What If?
by gointhruchanges20
Summary: What if Bella wasn't as quick to forgive Edward? What if Edward had to really work for her forgiveness? Here's my new ending to New Moon. Slight OOC, rated M for language and future chapters.
1. Chapter 1

**~Note: I don't own Twilight; I just wanted to play with this particular plot point**

 _Forse è uno o l'altro. Ah this is a sadness. If only it where your intention to give her immortality. Wait! Bella will be one us. I've seen it. I'll change her myself._

… _Mesmerizing. To see what you have seen, before it is happened. Your gifts... will make for an intriguing immortal... Isabella. Go now, and make your preparations. Let us be done with this. Heidi will arrive, any moment. Thank you... for your visit. We'll return the favor: I would advise that you follow through on your promise soon... We do not offer second chances. Goodbye... my young friends._

 **New Moon (2009 Movie)**

 **BPOV**

As we walked through the dank tunnels under Volterra, I felt so many emotions running through me: relief to know that Edward was alive; sorrow for the poor people who were fooled by that vampire, Heidi to their deaths. I also felt nervous about how Charlie would react to my recklessness; _Poor Jasper_ , I thought to myself, _he would be having a field day_.

I shivered from the cold in the tunnel and Edward held me closer to him. Where I had been longing for his touch for months, now my skin felt like it was crawling-as if I couldn't wait to be away from him. I realized the last emotion I couldn't quite place: Anger.

I was angry at Edward for lying to me all those months; I was angry that because of Jacob not letting me talk to Edward on the phone, he would put himself in this position; I was angry that Rosalie would open her big mouth and tell Edward I was dead without confirming it for sure. Mostly, I was angry that the life that I wanted to have with Edward wouldn't get to be my choice anymore, but it was rather mandated by an ancient group of vampires.

As Edward went to change his clothes in an airport bathroom just outside of Rome, Alice grabbed a cup of tea for me while we waited for him to come out.

"So what now?" I questioned her.

"I would say now we head home and make plans, but your future keeps going in and out. Why is that?" Alice questioned me back.

"I'm not sure what a future for Edward and I hold, Alice," I answered honestly. "He left me alone, took you and your family away from me for seven months! Am I supposed to just ignore how I feel and swoon into his arms and forget all of that?!"

"Bella, you have every right to be angry at my brother, but…" Alice started.

"But nothing, Alice. We do have decisions to make when we get home, but I'm only helping for what's the smart thing to do," I responded.

"The smart thing to do about what?" Edward questioned.

"Nothing we need to talk about now. Come on, they're calling our plane," I answered as I brushed past him.

The flight to Rome was brief enough that no one tried to talk to each other; it would be the flight to Atlanta that would be our undoing. "Alice, do you mind if I have the single seat? I just want to get some sleep," I asked her.

"Sure Bella, that's fine," Alice agreed. I think she didn't want to argue with me, I'm positive I looked like death warmed up.

"Do you want me to wake you up a little bit before we land?" Alice asked.

"If I'm not already, yeah that would be great Alice," I answered.

As the plane began its ascent, I asked the flight attendant for a pair of ear plugs, a pillow and an extra blanket. I didn't think sleep would come very easy for me, but I must have been so exhausted, I fell into a dreamless sleep.

 **So, I'm not sure if there is a story like this on FFN, but I wanted to write a New Moon story where Bella didn't just fall right back in with Edward as if everything was fine. That was probably the one plot point in the original saga that always bothered me! Hopefully, I will be updating more frequently considering I have more of an idea about this story! Please leave me a review.**


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: Thanks so much for the follows and reviews so far! They really mean a lot and I promise to update as frequently as I can. On that note, look! Not even 24 hours yet and I already have another chapter up. Yay me! Hopefully chapter 3 will be up later tonight or maybe tomorrow afternoon.**

 **I don't own _Twilight_ , but isn't Stephenie Meyer nice for letting us play with her characters?**

" _I promise that this will be the last time you'll see me. I won't come back. I won't put you through anything like this again. You can go on with your life without any more interference from me. It will be as if I'd never existed."_ _  
_ _―_ _ **Stephenie Meyer**_ _,_ _ **New Moon**_

 **EPOV**

To think I could have told this beautiful, sleeping angel such a vicious lie. I love her beyond all reason and I believed that I was doing the right thing at the time by leaving her so that she could have the chance to move on with someone else. Yet, here she is; so close but so far. Something changed within the tunnels of Volterra. Before my admittedly dramatic act was made a reality, she stopped me.

" _Is it really sick for me to be happy right now?" She asked. Her voice broke twice._ _  
_ _I didn't push her away. I pulled her tight against my ice-hard chest, so tight it was hard for her to breathe, even with her lungs securely intact._

 _"I know exactly what you mean," I whispered. "But we have lot of reasons to be happy. For one, we're alive."_ _  
_ _"Yes," she agreed. "That's a good one."_

 _"And together," I breathed out._

How did we get from there to now she refused to speak to me? I put on the complimentary headphones and pretended to watch the movie in front of me to give Alice as much privacy as I could while she reassured Jasper that we were alright and on our way back to Forks.

 _You can stop pretending to watch the movie now_ , Alice thought as she hung up the phone. I took the headphones off and took another glance at Bella while she slept. If it weren't for the tell-tale signs of her breathing, she almost looked like one of us feigning sleep. _One of us_ , I thought to myself.

"Alice, did you see anything else pertaining to that vision about Bella becoming one of us?" I asked my sister.

"Honestly, Edward, that vision is slipping away from me," Alice answered. "Along with a lot of Bella's future."

"What the hell does that mean?" I asked harshly.

"It means genius, you royally fucked up!" Alice fumed at me. "Bella isn't sure about her future with us anymore because of what you did, ergo I can't see her anymore!"

"But when we saw each other as she stopped me from leaving the clock tower, she seemed downright ecstatic to see me! She kissed me, stood up for me to the Volturi; how could she go from that to hating me?" I asked genuinely confused.

"Put yourself in her shoes, Edward: if one day after the love of your life overreacted to something as simple as a paper cut and decides to say I don't want to be with you anymore, you expect after seven months that didn't severely fuck with her head or her heart? Be serious," Alice scoffed at me. "In all honesty, it's a miracle that she came with me in the first place."

"I'm not trying to be selfish, but what would have kept her away?" I questioned her.

"I already told you: Jacob Black," Alice responded while rolling her eyes.

"I asked her not to do anything reckless and then she goes off to frolic with wolves," I said with a growl in my voice.

"You said 'it will be as if I never existed'. If you didn't exist, she would have had this friendship with Jacob. Don't expect her to keep promises of staying safe if everywhere she turned she still had reminders of you," Alice said coolly.

"I left because I wanted her to have a chance at a normal life; what's normal about being with a damn wolf?" I asked.

"Says the vampire with the mortal girlfriend," Alice mocked. "You should have done what Rose said before: make her like us or don't be with her at all."

"Rosalie," I growled. "I can't believe that she would let me think that Bella was dead!"

"She was just going off my vision, which let's be honest- how many times have I ever been wrong?" Alice responded. "Plus, you can't blame Rose or Jasper for this: Rose may have jumped the gun on a faulty vision and Jazz is still trying to get his bloodlust under control, but you're the one that left Edward. You tore Bella away from Emmett, Esme, and I; Jasper has been beating himself up for just as long as you've been away. Rose is Rose, not much can change there; but Carlisle couldn't have been more heartbroken- he's been with you the longest and finally, he could see you found your mate. You were so happy, and then you go and ruin it."

I ducked my head in shame. Alice was right: I took away another daughter from Carlisle and Esme, a sister from Emmett and her best friend away with my decision to leave.

"I never meant for Jasper to blame himself," I said remorsefully.

"I know you didn't," Alice responded with a sigh. "This whole situation needs to be fixed and hopefully we can."

I look back as Bella slightly stirred in her sleep. "I hope so too," I answered sadly.

 **Well, do you think they can fix it? Please leave your reviews, I'd love to know what you think. Thanks for reading!**

 **xoxo**


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: Thank you, thank you, thank you for your reviews! There have been some great suggestions to where some of you want to see the story go. I can't promise that ALL of them will be in there because I have a slight idea where I want to take the story, but there could be something I hadn't thought of.**

 **I don't own Twilight, I just like to write and borrow the characters from time to time!**

 _You know what. If we're too late for Edward, I'm going to do my damnedest to get you back to Charlie, and I don't want any trouble from you. Do you understand that?_ _  
_ ** _Alice Cullen, New Moon by Stephenie Meyer_**

 **APOV**

I'm glad we weren't too late to save my beyond stubborn brother; I don't know how we could have explained this to Charlie. _Well, you see Charlie: I'm actually psychic and I had a vision that Bella jumped off a cliff, so Edward basically asked this mafia family to kill him. Crazy stuff, huh?_ Not only would he have kept Bella away from us forever, he may have tried to leave Forks and make sure that I was locked up in a mental asylum again.

"Alice, please say or think something," Edward pleaded. "This radio silence is killing me!"

"Oh sure, when I actually try to shut up for once, you want me to talk." I responded.

Edward had a downcast look on his face. "Actually, I couldn't hear you in the airport either," he admitted sadly.

"What do you mean?" I asked confused.

"I mean, your thoughts were jumbled and I couldn't make sense of them; also I was so far away from the two of you, I couldn't hear your conversation," Edward responded.

"Now the thoughts I believe you on, but not hearing our actual conversation?" I questioned my brother with a raised eyebrow.

"Alright, I was trying to give you two a chance to catch up because of my decision, you didn't get to see your best friend," Edward explained. "It wasn't until Bella saying she was helping to decide what the smart thing to do is that I truly tuned in."

"How badly did I mess this up, Alice?" my brother asked me. I tried to focus, I really did, but Bella was angry; anger tends to make you irrational or sometimes more rational.

"Her decisions keep changing," I answered honestly. "There are some visions, I see the two of you happy as if nothing happened. Other visions, she keeps her distance from us."

"You're right, Alice; I royally fucked up," Edward laughed without humor.

"You have to give her time, Edward. She's hurting, you can't just expect her to be okay just because she came with me to help," I said, trying to reason with my brother.

At that point, Bella started to stir. She would wake up in exactly 34 seconds. Edward realized this too and got ready to speak to her when he noticed me shaking my head.

"She's still not ready to talk to you just yet, Edward," I told him. He turned to the window and stayed silent. Bella blinked a few times, trying to focus her eyes after so long. I waited until she took out her ear plugs before I spoke to her.

"Morning, sleepyhead," I said softly.

"Hi Alice," Bella said softly. "How much longer until we land in Atlanta?"

"About 43 minutes and 27 seconds from now," I answered. She nodded in understanding and signaled the flight attendant.

"Is there anything I can do for you sweetie?" she asked kindly.

"Do you have any orange juice or water?" Bella asked her.

"We have both. Which would you like?" the flight attendant asked.

"Orange juice, please," Bella responded. "I'm feeling a bit airsick, I think."

"Are you sure you're okay to fly some more, Bella?" I asked. "We can always drive the rest of the way back instead."

"That may be a good idea," Bella mused quietly. "It'll give me the chance to stretch my legs when I need to."

I closed my eyes for a moment to see just how long it would take us to get back to Forks. "It should take us a little less than 3 days to get back to Forks," I told her and Edward. "We stop a few times for you to eat something and so you can rest."

"I brought you some toast from the galley to help settle your stomach as well," the flight attendant said to Bella. "Is there anything else you need, dear?"

"No this is plenty, thank you," Bella responded with a slight smile.

"Let me know if you need anything else. Anything for the two of you?" She asked Edward and I.

"No, thank you," Edward responded lowly.

"We'll be fine, thank you," I responded with a smile.

The flight attendant smiled back and moved on to the remaining passengers in first class as the pilot informed us of our descent into Atlanta within the next 20 minutes.

I sat back in my seat and took a deep breath that I didn't really need. _I really hope we will be fine…_

 **Oh, Alice... I hate to put you through this :(**

 **It's your stupid brother's fault! I kid, I kid... but really...**

 **P.S delany1678: I saw what you meant about the convo between the girls in ch. 1. Hope this took care of it a little ;)**

 **Please leave me a review! Hope to have another chapter out before the weekend is over.**

 **xoxo**


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N: You guys have been amazing! Thank you so much to the new follows and favorites. Some of you feel that Edward isn't fully understanding how bad off he left Bella. Trust me, he's about to learn...**

 **I don't own _the Twilight Saga_ , but man I wish I did! (Don't worry, I'd still share!)**

" _And yet, I found I could survive. I was alert, I felt the pain - the aching loss that radiated out from my chest, sending wracking waves of hurt through my limbs and head - but it was manageable. I could live through it. I didn't feel like the pain had weakened over time rather that I'd grown strong enough to bear it."_ _  
_ _―_ _ **Stephenie Meyer**_ _,_ _ **New Moon**_

 **BPOV**

Once we landed in Atlanta, there was the matter of renting the car. I knew this could have gone one of two ways: Alice could go to the car rental line and I have a complete meltdown in an airport in a city nearly 3,000 miles from home; or Alice would have Edward go rent the car and help keep my sanity for another 72 hours.

"Edward, could you be a dear and handle the rental? I'm going to take Bella outside for some fresh air," Alice said sweetly.

"Of course, I'll meet you both outside then," Edward said with a nod. He tried to make eye contact with me, but I ducked my head down. I still couldn't look at him without feeling that I would get into a fit of rage or burst into tears. Alice and I walked to the area of the airport where you could wait for a rental.

"I was going to grab the rental myself, but I had a vision of you getting hysterical and needing to be dragged out by security," Alice grimaced. _I missed this little clairvoyant vampire._

"Thank you, Alice. I'm really not ready to face him just yet," I admitted. "I honestly don't know how I'm going to make it being cooped up in a car with him for 2 days."

"My visions of you have been a little spotty lately, but you do fall asleep about 5 times on the road," Alice told me. "And for the time's you're awake, I bought you this," she said to me handing me an iPod out of her bag. "I filled it with some songs that I figured would help boost your spirits."

"Thank you, Alice," I said hugging my friend. I really did miss her and that just made me frustrated again. At that point, Edward pulled up in a Ford Escape. _Thank God it wasn't anything reminiscent of anything the Cullens would drive_ , I thought to myself. Alice and I went around to the passenger's side and got in the truck.

"Okay, it's 5:45 A.M. now. With your lead foot, where will we be in 12 hours?" Alice asked Edward as he began to drive towards the highway.

"Somewhere in the middle of Nebraska, I think," Edward answered.

"Did you see something, Alice?" I asked her.

"You'll want to stop to grab something to eat around then and then be ready to check into a hotel," Alice informed me. "Around 4 A.M tomorrow, you'll be ready to hit the road again and we should be back in Forks by 5 in the afternoon."

I nodded to show my understanding and plugged the headphones in to make use of Alice's present. I went to check my phone to see if there were any messages for me. Three voicemails from Charlie and three texts from Jake.

 _Bells, it's not too late! Please don't go, I don't want you to ruin your life or worse…_

 _Bells, think of what this will do to Charlie! You're going to break his heart again if you get hurt…_

 _Bella, you're probably halfway to wherever this Volterra is. I should have known I couldn't stop you when it comes to HIM. Please just stay safe and come home. I'll still be waiting in the wings, Bells._

I put the headphones in my ears and just before I started the music, I texted Jake back.

 **Jake, I'm okay. We made it out and on our way to Forks. We should be there tomorrow afternoon. Can we talk the day after?**

 _Sure, sure. Glad you're okay. Talk to u soon_

I smiled to myself at how fast Jake answered his text; he must not have been on guard duty today. Out of the corner of my eye, I notice Edward trying to watch my reactions. I just wanted to get back home in peace, so I sat with my back to the window on his side and turned on the iPod.

 **EPOV**

 _Who could have made her smile like that?_ I wondered to myself. It had been nearly 27 hours since we had seen each other again in nearly seven months and I hadn't seen a hint of a smile from her.

"Alice, have you seen Bella with anyone else?" I quietly ask my sister.

"No, Edward, I haven't," Alice answered with a roll of her eyes. "Even if I had, do you think I would have told you?"

"Well, why wouldn't you?" I questioned.

"You can't promise a girl that she'll never see you again, then turn around and ask your clairvoyant sister if she's dating anyone else," Alice replied. "It doesn't work like that."

I sighed to myself.

"Even if you explain why you did what you did, it's going to fall on deaf ears Edward," Alice said quietly. "She's been mourning a future that she wanted for nearly seven months. Now that future doesn't get to be her choice anymore; I would be pretty pissed off too."

"How bad was it, Alice?" I asked her.

"She was basically a fucking zombie up until February," Alice answered.

"And I guess that's when Jacob Black swoops in to save the fucking day, right?" I ask sarcastically.

"You did this to yourself, Edward," Alice scoffed at me. "Don't expect any sympathy from me."

We sat in silence after that for the next 11 hours. Alice texted Jazz on and off; Bella slept on and off. Just as I predicted, around 5:45 P.M. we entered a small town in Nebraska. Alice put gas in the rental, while she had me ask about any diners close by so that Bella could eat something and the nearest hotel. The nearest diner was about five miles from the gas station and the nearest hotel two more miles after that. While Alice got Bella fed, I drove up the extra two miles to get the two rooms we would need; granted I could have sat in the car all night, but then I might look like a deranged killer.

By 7 o' clock, the girls claimed their room at the hotel, leaving me to sit and read. Around 8:30, there was a knock on my door.

 _Don't get your hopes up_ , Alice thought as I opened the door.

"Everything okay?" I asked my sister.

"Yeah, I'm just going to the outlet to grab all of us some more clothes before we hit the road again," Alice said. "I need the keys to the truck."

I handed Alice the keys and sat in the chair near the dividing wall of the room. I could hear Bella settling on one of the mattresses in the room and listen to her check her voicemail.

 _Bells, how the hell can you just leave especially at a time like this?! I know you're 18 and everything, but with the way you've been acting you have me worried kid! Call me._

 _Bella, I hope you're not ignoring me. Sweetheart, please just let your old man know that you're alright. I love you kid, I don't want you to get hurt again._

 _Isabella, you have until midnight tonight to call me or I'm calling in a national search party. I know you're supposed to be with Alice, but you could have checked your phone somewhere in that time period._

That message came shortly after we landed in Atlanta, so she still had some time to call him.

"Dad?" I heard her say timidly.

 _"Bells, thank God! Where are you young lady?"_

"We're someway outside of Lincoln, Nebraska. I guess someone heard about me going cliff diving with Jake; they must be friends with the Cullens because Edward thought I was hurt. Alice and I drove to Atlanta to let him know that I was okay and we're on our way back to Forks now," Bella told her father.

" _Hm, if he were that worried, he should've got his ass on a plane and flew in to check on you himself. Grovel and beg for your forgiveness while he's at it,"_ Charlie said in a displeased tone.

"Well, you're not wrong," Bella agreed with him.

It's hard to beg forgiveness when the person you're trying to ask won't make eye contact with you.

"We should be home late tomorrow night or earlier the next day," Bella assured Charlie.

" _Okay, we'll talk more when you get home. Love you kid_ ," Charlie said preparing to end the call.

"Love you too, dad. See you soon," Bella responded and hung up the phone. I heard her sigh one more time and settle into bed.

I half-watch the news on the t.v. and hear my sister come back around 11:15. I also hear Bella start to whimper in her sleep. I come out of my room just as my sister comes down the hall. "What's the matter?" Alice asks in a panic.

"I don't know," I answered. "I just started hearing her whimper in her sleep."

"Go back to you room. I'll handle it," Alice said as Bella's cries became a little louder.

"No, no please! Don't do this," I heard Bella wail.

"Bella, sweetie, you have to wake up!" I heard Alice plea.

"No!" I heard Bella gasp loudly.

"Bella, are you okay?" Alice asked.

"Alice? Alice, where are we?" Bella asked.

"We're in Nebraska. We're all driving back home to Forks remember?" Alice answered.

"We went to Italy to save Edward," Bella said in a monotone voice.

"Yes. Bella, what were you dreaming about?" Alice asked.

"I started dreaming about the night Edward left again," Bella replied in a small voice.

 _Wait, AGAIN? Oh, God; Bella, what did I do to you?_

 **Oh, Edward...you don't know the half of it!**

 **Please leave me your reviews. Bella's big rant is coming next chapter!**

 **xoxo**


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N: I really can't express enough how grateful I am for your reviews and follows :) So here we are; so many of you have said you're ready for Edward to feel Bella's pain and this chapter is only going to be the beginning. I know a couple of you have wondered why she isn't mad at the Cullens; I'll explain more at the bottom.**

 **I do own _Twilight_ ; the movies and soundtracks count as owning it, right? No? Okay, I don't own _Twilight_ then. Damn...**

 **P.S.- The family vote is typed differently due to it being dialogue from the movie.**

" _Love didn't work that way, I decided. Once you cared about a person, it was impossible to be logical about them anymore."_ _  
_ _―_ _ **Stephenie Meyer**_ _,_ _ **New Moon**_

 **BPOV**

After waking up from a dream I didn't have for two months, Alice brought me some water and talked to me until I fell back asleep. Just as she predicted, I woke up around 4 in the morning; Alice being the Godsend she is already grabbed breakfast for me. The three of us made our way to the truck around 4:30. Edward tossed Alice the keys so that she could drive and I guess so he could try to talk to me; I sat similarly to how I did when he was driving so that he couldn't see me.

Around 12, we stopped in between Idaho and Oregon so that I could eat and Edward put gas in the truck. By 4:55, we started seeing the familiar foliage near the Cullen's house.

When Alice noticed my shock, she reassured me by telling me "I promise I'll drop you back off to Charlie's, but the rest of the family wanted to see you."

Alice and I hung back while the Cullens greeted the prodigal son in their own unique way.

"Don't you ever put me through something like that again," Esme warned him while pulling him in a tight hug.

Jasper hung to the back and gave Edward the "glad you're okay" bro nod; Emmett verbalized this with a side hug.

Rosalie punched him in the arm, called him a 'miserable prick' and warned him not to put the family through something like that again while reaching to give him a quick hug.

Carlisle gave him a fatherly pat on the shoulder and said "Welcome home, son."

Alice went to give everyone a kiss on the cheek; while Emmett was twirling her around in a bear hug, Esme came up to hug me. "I'm so sorry we put you through this, Bella," She said in a shaky voice.

If she were capable of shedding tears, Esme would have been a sobbing mess.

"It's not your fault, Esme," I assured her. "I am really glad to see you."

"Hey, what about me?" Emmett questioned.

"Yes, you big dork, I missed you too," I gasped out as he pulled me into a tight hug. "Human needs to breathe, Em!"

"Sorry," Emmett said bashfully. "You're so tiny and I forget sometimes."

"It's okay," I reassured him and gave him a kiss on the cheek.

"Hello, Bella," Jasper said quietly. He had his head ducked down as if he were preparing for me to tear into him. I walked over to where he was standing off to the side and stood in front of him, waiting for him to lift his head to look me in the eye.

"Jasper, I have never blamed you for what happened," I told him. He must have sensed the sincerity in my words, because he gave me a shy smile and thanked me.

At that point, Alice came up to his side and kissed him on the cheek. "I told you she wasn't mad at you," she said.

"I know you did, darlin'," he replied. "It was just nice actually hearing it from Bella." The three of us shared a small chuckle at that and walked down into the living room leaving me to face the other Cullen I wasn't ready to talk to just yet.

"Rosalie," I said with an annoyed sigh.

"I'm glad you're okay," she said before looking at her ridiculously priced shoes. "I'm sorry for telling Edward that you had died."

I nodded, a half assed acceptance of her half assed apology, and sat down on the couch. Edward and Carlisle rejoined us from wherever they were probably discussing what happened in Italy.

"Bella, I'm glad to see you with us again," Carlisle said warmly.

"Now, Edward has explained the situation in Volterra to me; essentially Bella was given the ultimatum of either joining our family or face death," Carlisle informed the rest of the Cullens in a sad tone.

"Do you mind if I say something Carlisle?" I asked.

"Of course not, Bella," Carlisle said, taking a seat next to Esme. "The floor is yours."

"I know this is an incredibly messed up situation," I started. _"_ _And I know it's a lot to ask for. The only fair way I can think of is if we put this to a vote."_

 _"Bella, you don't know what you're doing," Edward whispered._

 _"Just... shut up," I seethed at him. I turned my attention to my best friend. "Alice?" I asked._

" _I already consider you my sister... Yes!" she exclaimed happily._

 _"Thank you," I said as I accepted her hug._

" _I vote yes," Jasper said surprising me. "It would be nice not to want to kill you all the time," he added with a sly smile._

" _I'm sorry. I'm really sorry to both of you for how I've acted. And I'm really grateful that you were brave enough to go save my brother," Rosalie started. "But this isn't a life I would have chosen for myself. And I wish that there had been someone to vote no for me. So no," she finished softly._

" _I vote hell yeah!" Emmett said enthusiastically. "We can pick a fight with the Volturi some other way."_

" _I already think of you as part of the family. Yes!" Esme said warmly. I noticed Edward looking uncomfortably at Carlisle._

 _"Why are you doing this to me? You know what this means," he pleaded to his adopted father._

 _"You've chosen not to live without her, which leaves me no choice. I won't lose my son," Carlisle said with conviction._

 _He doesn't want to live without me_ , I thought to myself. _Isn't that a pity?_

"So we have five for yes and two for no," I said. "I know normally, majority would rule; thank you all for being accepting of me. However, I have to put in my own vote," I told the Cullens. "And I vote no."

 **EPOV**

Six different thoughts bombarded me at once:

 _Wait, WHAT!_

 _I sure as hell wasn't expecting that_

 _Oh dear one_

 _She's really hurting_

 _What does this mean son?_

 _I told you that you fucked up!_

I am pretty sure we all wore the same expressions of shock, but somehow I found my voice.

"Bella, I thought that this is what you wanted?" I questioned her.

"It was at one time," Bella responded with a sarcastic chuckle. "I wanted a lot of things, but someone decided to take both of our fates into his own hands SEVEN. FUCKING. MONTHS. AGO!"

How could she not have understood I did what I did to protect her, give her a chance at a long, healthy life?

"Bella, can we talk privately?" I pleaded with her.

"No, Edward, you don't get to play the victim," Bella said, nearing the verge of tears. She took a deep breath and wiped at her eyes. "I refuse to shed any more tears over you. I did that for months already," Bella said steadying her breathing.

"You dragged your family into this, so they need to hear this too," she said.

"Bella, please," I started to say but Bella cut me off.

"YOU DON'T GET TO TALK!" Bella practically roared at me. "YOU HAD SEVEN MONTHS THAT YOU COULD HAVE SAID SOMETHING AND YOU CHOSE TO STAY SILENT!"

 _I honestly never thought that I would be afraid of a five foot four, 110 pound brunette human,_ Emmett thought to himself.

"You left me because you believed that I wasn't safe in your world, right?" Bella asked rhetorically. "Well that's bullshit. You see, I had a bit of an epiphany as we left Volterra. You didn't leave because you thought me being around vampires was unsafe; you left because you thought my feelings would change," Bella accused me. "My pathetic, little human feelings couldn't comprehend just how much love you had for me, right?"

I wanted to answer, but I didn't want her to lash out again.

"Well, let me tell you something Edward Cullen," she started again. "I love you with every fiber of my being. I was willing to become like you so that we would never be separated by death or disease." Bella took another deep breath, trying to will her tears away again; it was a losing battle. "But because of something as minuscule as a _paper cut,_ you overreacted and made the situation worse. Carlisle and Emmett could have handled getting Jasper out of the room, but instead of just moving me behind you to protect me you push me into a glass frame!"

"I told you, I just wanted to spend that day with you!" she continued. "But no, you just ignored my wishes and helped Alice throw a party for me anyway. I end up with stitches that could have been avoided; I end up with a gaping hole in my chest days later after you fucking rip my heart out and play on every last insecurity about our relationship I ever had! Maybe it's not other vampires I need to be protected from Edward, maybe it's just you," Bella concluded.

In the blink of an eye, I was in front of her on my knees. I took her hands in mine and looked at her splotchy face _. I caused these tears; I truly am a deplorable creature,_ I thought to myself.

"Bella, my love, I am so deeply sorry for all the pain I caused you. Please forgive me," I begged her.

She smiled, but it didn't reach her eyes. She bent down so that we could be eye to eye with each other.

"Edward," she said with a false sweetness. "Your 'sorry' doesn't mean shit to me." Bella pushed away from me and walked towards the front door.

"Bella, please don't go!" Alice pleaded with her as she followed her out the door. Rosalie followed right behind the girls a little slower; she paused before leaving out the house and turned to me.

"Congratulations, big brother," she sneered at me. "You just put a target on this girl's back."

Alice was right: I had royally fucked up.

 ***peeks from around laptop screen* Did I do okay?**

 **So, Edward's still a bit slow on the uptake...I think he needs to hear from some other sources, don't you?**

 **As to why Bella's not mad at the rest of the Cullens: if your boyfriend is promising you that it's like he never existed, his family can't stay around. Bella would never blame the Cullens for trying to protect her. While she loves them like a second family, they were never her reason for choosing to become a vampire- Edward was. So, I figure it was a little easier to forgive the rest of the Cullen clan, but they'll have some work to do too ;)**

 **Please leave me you reviews and thanks so much for reading! See you soon with the next chapter!**

 **xoxo**


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N: Hi... So last chapter left people a little divided: some are glad Edward is feeling Bella's pain, some are feeling Bella should have kept a cooler head. Well, this chapter can hopefully bridge a bit of the gap. Thank you guys for reading so far and still being nice even when you don't agree with the characters :D**

 **and sadly we all know I don't own _Twilight_...le sigh...On to the story!**

" _Not as bad! Not as bad! My mind tried to comfort me. It was true. This wasn't as bad. This wasn't the end of the world, not again. This was just the end of what little peace there was left behind. That was all._ _  
_ _Not as bad_ _, I agreed, then added,_ _but bad enough_ _."_ _  
_ _―_ _ **Stephenie Meyer**_ _,_ _ **New Moon**_

 **BPOV**

I walked out to the Cullens' front yard and sat on the ground; I tried pulling as much air in as I could. _I can't believe I just did that_ , I thought to myself.

"Bella!" I heard my name called by two voices; Alice's was frantic and Rosalie's was surprisingly concerned.

"Bella, what the hell just happened in there?" Alice asked.

"I honestly don't know, Alice," I admitted. "It was like a total out of body experience. One minute I was okay and the next…Holy shit!"

"I gotta admit, I didn't think you had it in you," Rosalie said clearly impressed with my rant.

"Thanks…I think," I said hesitantly to Rosalie.

"Speaking of what just happened, what the fuck was with the 'no' vote, Rose?" Alice growled at her sister.

"I know what you're both probably thinking, but it wasn't personal," Rosalie started to explain. "Let's think about this for a minute: clearly Bella is still upset about everything that's happened in the last seven months; do we really want a pissed off newborn running around?"

"Okay, I see your point on that," Alice conceded with a huff.

"Also, think about her parents; for majority of us our parents were already out of our lives or were near the point of death," Rosalie continued. "We can't do that to Chief Swan, especially with everything we've already put the two of them through."

"Wow, that's actually really considerate of you Rosalie," I said surprised.

"I know I come off as the ice bitch of the family," Rosalie admitted. "It's just I look at you and I see all the things that this family could've had if we weren't cursed to this life."

"Rose, how can you see this life as a curse; it's what brought us all together," Alice said sadly.

"I know, Ali; I love you all so much but be honest," Rosalie said. _"If we had happy endings, we'd all be under gravestones now."_

"But what about your vote?" Alice asked again.

"Bella, my vote 'no' doesn't mean I want to see you dead," Rosalie told me. "I just don't think Bella needs to be put into this life just because of what an ancient group of vampires dictate."

"You think there's another way for me to get out of this," I said in understanding.

"Maybe there is," Rosalie admitted. At that moment, Alice's eyes glazed over; she was having a vision.

"What did you see?" Rosalie and I asked.

"I finally saw you make a decision, Bella," Alice's voice broke. "You're leaving."

 **EPOV**

Emmett's mind was unusually quiet.

"Em, please say something," I pleaded of my brother.

"No, little brother, you don't want me to do that," Emmett chuckled without humor. "If I say something, I might regret it." He stood up then and walked out the back door.

"Edward, how could you do this?" my mother asked quietly.

"Esme, I've been trying to apologize for leaving," I started but she cut me off.

"No, Edward. How can you say you love Bella but condemn her to death?" Esme said.

"I didn't condemn her to death; that's why I didn't vote," I said simply.

Esme's eyes grew cold, a look I had never seen from her-even when I went through my rebellious phase.

"If you'll excuse me, I'm going to check on your brother," Esme said in a detached voice, following Emmett's trail.

"Edward, you do realize when you said 'why are you doing this to me' to Carlisle, Bella was taking that as a vote of 'no'," Jasper said calmly.

"He's right son," Carlisle began to speak. "To Bella, hearing you express your disapproval to my thoughts, she would have taken that as you don't want to be with her except on your terms."

"I can't let her soul be taken away from her," I said.

"So in other words, if old age or disease doesn't kill her, let the Volturi do it," Jasper said sarcastically.

"That's not what I meant and you know it!" I growled at my brother.

"Are you sure about that Edward?" Jasper said standing to challenge me. "Because when Bella was standing up there, asking our family to accept her-I felt that last twinge of hope within her; that hope that you loved her enough to truly keep her forever. And what did you do? You basically said 'Fuck the Volturi, I'm going to keep you human anyway. Let's just forget all the bullshit I put you through in the last seven or so months and just stroll off into the sunset just the way we are'," He finished with a roll of his eyes.

"Son, this threat is serious," Carlisle tried to reason with me. "I know you love Bella, but so do the rest of us. Do you want to destroy our family by taking yourselves away from us again?"

I hung my head in shame. "I hadn't realized I had been so selfish," I said. "I'm sorry."

"We're not the only ones you need to apologize to," Jasper said as Emmett and Esme walked back in.

"Esme, Emmett, I'm sorry for what I've done to you both," I told them.

"We're not the ones that need to hear that," Emmett said taking his seat back on the couch.

"I tried, she won't accept it," I pathetically tried to explain.

"No, you tried to charm her," Esme finally spoke. "If you want her back, you're going to have to earn being in her good graces."

At that point we heard the front door open and Rosalie, Alice and Bella came walking back in. _Here we go…_

 **BPOV**

"What?" Rosalie asked as if she couldn't understand what Alice had said. "You're not really thinking of leaving, are you?" she turned to ask me.

"It was a passing thought, but the more I think about it, maybe it is for the best," I said. "A fresh start, for all of us. Except this one, everyone will know about."

"But when I was saying that there are ways to avoid the Volturi, I meant like a makeover," Rosalie said. "Like changing your hair color, maybe finding a perfume that won't make your scent as prominent, not leaving!"

"This may be the only way, Rosalie," I told her. "What would happen if the Volturi came and still saw me human? I can't bring that kind of punishment to you, I won't!" Alice sobbed without tears and I walked up to hug her.

"I don't want you to go," she cried.

"I don't want you hurt because of me," I told her. "I have to do this, maybe it will buy you some time."

With that said, I walked back to the house not looking behind to see if Alice and Rosalie were following me.

 _Time to truly say good-bye_ , I thought to myself. I walked back to where I stood during my episode and looked at the faces of all the Cullens, even Edward's.

"First off, I want to apologize for the way I had acted earlier. I should have approached that a bit calmer," I said to the Cullens.

"You had to get it off your chest exactly that way, Bella," Jasper said surprising me. "Your anger would have kept festering."

"Still, I shouldn't have done that in front of all of you and I'm sorry." I said. Emmett raised his hand as if he were back in Forks High.

"Yes, Emmett?" I responded with a laugh.

"Bells, why would you vote 'no' about becoming one of us?" Emmett asked sadly. "I thought you wanted to be part of our family." I sighed and looked at the big teddy bear of a vampire.

"I did, but I wanted the choice to truly be mine, Emmett," I started to explain. "I wanted it to come from a place of love, not fear."

I cleared my throat and looked up. Alice still looked like she would cry, Rosalie actually looked sad; Jasper, Esme, and Carlisle looked at me with concern. And God help me, Edward looked hopeful.

"I told the girls outside, but I felt all of you deserved to know," I said and took a deep breath. "I'm going to leave Forks." Protests began coming from the rest of the Cullens and Edward looked as devastated as I felt back in September. I wanted to feel vindicated about that, but I didn't; as much as I hate him right now, I still love him just as much.

"Everyone please," I said trying to quiet everyone down. "This may be the safest way for all of us; I can go to Florida with my mother, I doubt the Volturi would follow me there. I can change my appearance in some kind of way even if they did show up," I explained.

"They would still know your scent, Bella," Edward attempted to reason with me.

"I'll start wearing perfume," I huffed, shrugging my shoulders. "But the one thing I will not do is put you all in danger. I just wanted you all to know about my decision, this way we can at least say good-bye this time."

Edward stared at me in disbelief. He got ready to say something, but I couldn't deal with anymore today.

"Alice, would you mind taking me home now?" I asked her.

"Okay," she said sadly. I walked past my almost family and followed her out the door.

 **EPOV**

I sat in shock. _No, no she can't leave_ , I thought to myself.

"Then why are you still fucking sitting there!" Emmett exclaimed. "Go after her!" I was out of the house just as Alice was starting up the truck.

"Wait!" I shouted and hit my hand on the glass.

Bella rolled down the window, "This truck does have to go back eventually! I think they would want it in the same condition it left Atlanta in," she declared.

"Bella, please you can't go, not like this," I begged her.

"I have to go home Edward, Charlie's expecting me," Bella replied.

"No, I mean please don't leave Forks. We can figure something else out," I tried to reason with her.

"Edward, if the Volturi come and I'm not changed, we could literally be bring hell to Forks," Bella told me. "Just do what you promised and let me go."

If I could have shed tears, I would have right then.

"Love, please." I tried pleading with her one more time.

"Don't worry, Edward. When I leave, I'll do my best to make it as if I never existed," she said in a sad tone. I backed away from the truck and watched Alice pull away with my future and my reason for existence.

 **So yeah, I'm gonna go hide in a corner just in case someone's not happy. Reviews are welcome and thanks for reading! Be back soon with chapter 7!**

 **xoxo**


	7. Chapter 7

**A/N: Hey everybody. So again, mixed reviews last chapter: some are worried I'll really have Bella leave, some feel it would serve Edward right, and some are just in disbelief that I would try to mask Bella's scent with perfume ;) Fear not everyone, the story is just really starting to unfold. Just trust me..**

 **I don't own _Twilight_ ; I just come up with random ideas like perfume coverups. **

" _Now and then I see something in her eyes, and I wonder if I've ever grasped how much pain she's really in."_ _  
_ _―_ _ **Stephenie Meyer**_ _,_ _ **New Moon**_

 **APOV**

For one of the first times since Bella and I had become friends, there was absolute silence in the car. My mind was just milling over the fact that Bella said she was going to leave. _DAMN IT, EDWARD! THIS IS ALL YOUR FAULT_ , I screamed in my head as if my brother could hear me this close to Bella's house. We pulled up to Charlie's and I put the car in park.

"Did you want to come in and say hi to Charlie?" Bella asked quietly.

"Think it'll lessen the blow of you being grounded?" I attempted to joke.

"He was threatening a national search party, I don't think there's much that'll lesson the blow," Bella joked back.

"Would you mind if I came back later?" I asked her.

"You'll know when Charlie's sleep. I'll leave the window open for you," Bella responded with a sad smile.

"Bye Bella," I whispered sadly.

"I'll see you later, Alice," Bella whispered back as she got out of the truck.

 **CharliePOV**

I saw a random SUV pulling up into the driveway. At first, I thought I would need to tell the driver that they were trespassing on private property, until I looked out and saw the Cullen girl and Bella in the car.

 _Alice_ , I had to remind myself. Now her I like, it's her brother that was gonna be the problem. The two took their time saying good-bye and Bella finally got out the truck. As she made her way up the front stairs, I opened the door showing I was already waiting for her to come back.

Now, I'm not a super emotional man by any means, but I was damn glad to see my baby girl back home safe and sound. Bella looked up and I could tell she was preparing for me to lower the ax.

"Dad, I'm…" she started to say, but I cut her off with a hug.

"Don't you EVER do something like that to me again, young lady," I said holding back my tears.

"I promise," Bella said hugging me back. "I'm sorry, Dad," she said tearfully.

I held on to her as if she would disappear any second.

"I forgive you, Bella," I replied. We slowly let each other go and I let her walk past me so that I could shut the door. Bella was already sitting on the couch, expectant of whatever I was going to say. I sat down next to her and took a deep breath.

"So, what happened?" I asked her. "I know that you said someone must have told Edward about you cliff jumping, which we'll talk about that in a minute, but what happened after that?"

"So Jake answered the phone when Edward called the house and told him you were busy planning the funeral," Bella started to explain. "He must have automatically assumed mine because of somebody telling him I went cliff diving and with my history of being a klutz, assumed the worst. He called Alice and said he didn't want to live without me anymore, so she found out where he was and we flew down to Atlanta to show him that I was okay."

"I still say he should have come up here to see for himself," I muttered.

"That he should have," Bella agreed with me. "It could have saved us a lot of heartache."

"So, why didn't he drive you home?" I asked curiously.

"I told him that I came down with Alice because I wanted to show that I was okay, but I told him that he was right: we couldn't be together," Bella answered with a shrug of her shoulders.

"Well, that must have made for an awkward ride home," I said.

"Actually, I just did that before Alice dropped me off," Bella replied.

"But are you okay?" I questioned my daughter.

"I will be," she answered with a nod.

"Now about this cliff diving business…" I started.

"It was incredibly stupid, I could have been hurt, and I promise to never do it again," Bella responded.

"Glad we had that talk," I said with a smirk. "But just so you know, you're grounded…forever."

"Okay," Bella said with a small smile. She stood up and gave me a kiss on the cheek. "I'm going to bed. Goodnight, Dad," She said.

"Goodnight Bells," I replied. I hate to see my girl heartbroken, but at least something good came out of this…

 **APOV**

I pulled the truck in front of the garage and heard shouting from outside. I bolted into the house.

"You know, we're lucky to live in the middle of nowhere otherwise neighbors would actually hear you," I said.

"Not now, Alice!" Edward growled at me with Emmett and Jasper sitting on him.

"What the actual fuck?" I asked.

"Edward's considering breaking into Chief Swan's house to convince Bella not to leave," Emmett explained. "Clearly, we had to resort to desperate measures."

"I agree we have to make sure Bella doesn't leave, but for God's sake get off of Edward you two!" I said to my brother and my husband.

"Fun sucker," Emmett grumbled under his breath as he and Jasper stood and helped Edward to his feet.

"Now everyone sit, we need to talk about Bella," I announced.

"Can I start first?" Rose asked.

"Yeah, go ahead Rose," I replied.

"First off, that idea about the perfume covering Bella's scent, I just remembered how that most definitely is not going to work," Rose admitted. "Bella's scent is ridiculously potent, nothing is going to cover that."

"Also, the Volturi could have spies in Florida. They can look for her in the cover of darkness or try to lure her out somewhere like that scumbag James did," Jasper mentioned as Edward growled besides him.

"Her father has already been through so much already, losing Bella now would crush him," Esme said sadly.

"In the time we've been back, we found out one of the Quileute elders Harry Clearwater passed away," Carlisle stated.

"Wait, is that the funeral that Jacob was talking about?" Edward asked trying to understand.

"Yeah it was, and had you have actually called me I could have told you that!" I snapped at my brother.

"Well, Rosalie said you were sure!" He snapped back at me.

"When the fuck have you ever listened to me about anything?" Rose questioned angrily.

"ENOUGH!" Carlisle roared and everyone quieted. Carlisle hardly ever raises his voice. "We're losing focus here; the important thing is figuring out how to convince Bella to let go of this idea of leaving Forks and more significantly how to keep her and our family safe from the Volturi," Carlisle declared.

"Then let me go and talk to her," Edward said.

"Nope, she still doesn't want to talk to you," I told him. "Let her come to you when she's ready, if she ever is."

"So what do we do?" Emmett questioned.

"We try to keep everything as normal as possible," Carlisle said. "Edward, Alice, and Jasper will start back at the high school Monday morning; I have already been brought back on at the hospital and we will attempt to stay as vigilante as possible in regards to our friends in Italy."

"Sounds good to me," Rose agreed with a nod.

"Me too; I can use a hunt. Jazz, you comin' with?" Emmett asked.

"Sure. Alice, what about you?" Jasper asked me.

"I'm going to take the rental to Sea-Tac," I hedged doing my best to make sure my brother didn't hear where I was going afterward in my mind.

"I'm going upstairs," Edward said. I waited for him to leave the room, kissed Jasper and watched him leave with Emmett and Rose.

"Well, I'll be back," I announced. I grabbed the keys to the rental and walked outside.

"Alice," Esme called as she followed out the door. "Where are you really going?" she whispered to me.

"I am taking the truck back, but then I'm going to see Bella," I admitted.

"Try to get our girl back," she said patting me on the arm.

"I'm working on it, mom," I assured her and kissed her on the cheek.

After driving the rental back and running to Bella's, I climbed up the tree near her bedroom window and sent her a text saying I was outside. She texted me back and told me to come in. After climbing up the tree and closing the window, I told her about what I saw when I first got back home.

"Is he crazy? He really shouldn't want to test out that theory that you guys are bulletproof," Bella sighed.

"Bella, are you really sure about leaving?" I asked her.

"It's may be the only safe bet, Alice," Bella tried to reason with me. Bella laid down on her bed and got under her covers; I took my shoes off and laid on top of her covers.

"Would you hate me if I did leave?" Bella asked me quietly. I looked over at her and waited till she looked me in the eye.

"Bella, I could never hate you," I told her honestly. She smiled at me and turned over to her side. I waited till I heard her breathing evened out and let my mind wander. I tried to keep my eyes on the Volturi, I tried keeping watch on Victoria, and I tried to see how and if my now fractured family would come back together.

 **So, Alice remembers icky Vicky's still out there... And as for Bella: will she stay or will she go?**

 **Please leave me your reviews and thank you for reading! Until next time...**

 **xoxo**


	8. Chapter 8

**A/N: Thank you guys so much for being patient! I'll save my longer A/N for the end of the story.**

 **I don't own _Twilight_ , but I do have a nice new iPod :)**

" _You know the story in the Bible?' Jacob asked suddenly, still reading the blank ceiling. 'The one with the king and the two women fighting over the baby?'_ _'_

 _"Sure. King Solomon.'_ _'_

 _"That's right. King Solomon.' he repeated. 'And he said, cut the kid in half... but it was only a test. Just to see who would give-up their share to protect it.'"_

 _''Yeah. I remember."_

 _He looked back at my face. 'I'm not going to cut you in half anymore, Bella."_ _  
_ _―_ _ **Stephenie Meyer**_ _,_ _ **Eclipse**_

 **BPOV**

I woke up early the next morning and looked over at Alice, who was lying next to me with her eyes closed. To anyone else it would have looked as if she were asleep, but I knew better; this was her way of being able to focus on multiple visions at once.

"Alice?" I whispered. Her eyes shot open immediately and she darted towards my closet.

"Charlie's coming," she explained to me since I probably had a confused look on my face. No more than 10 seconds later, Charlie was knocking on my door.

"You can come in, Dad," I said. He opened the door and peeked in.

"Hey, Bells, I'm headin' down to La Push to check on Sue Clearwater and the kids," Charlie told me. "You need anything?"

"Am I allowed visitors?" I questioned.

"Depends on the visitor," Charlie hedged.

"If you see Jake, can you ask him to come over around noon?" I asked him. "We kind of got into an argument before I left and I want to make sure we're okay."

"Yeah, I'll let him know," Charlie said nodding his head and closing the door behind him.

Alice opened the door to my closet and walked over to sit on my bed.

"Do you really have to visit with the dog?" She asked in disgust.

I rolled my eyes and answered, "Yes, Alice, I do need to talk to Jacob. I really don't like the way I left and I owe Jake the truth about my feelings for him."

"I care about him a lot, but what I feel for Edward is stronger," I continued.

"So does that mean that you'll give my brother a second chance?" Alice asked with a hopeful tone in her voice.

"I can't say for sure, Alice. My head is still kind of messed up from everything that happened these last few months," I answer honestly.

"Okay, I'll leave you to deal with the pup," Alice said with a roll of her eyes.

"Please just be patient with me," I said giving Alice a hug.

"Alright, alright," Alice relented. "Charlie will let me come visit later. Just be sure you let the house air out a bit," she said with a wink and darted out my window before I could try to swipe at her.

I took my shower shortly after that, ate a couple pop-tarts, and sat on the couch with my worn out copy of _Wuthering Heights_ waiting until noon. At 12:01 on the dot, I heard a knock at the door; I opened the door and saw Jake staring at me in concentration, until he smiled and hugged me.

"Glad to see you're still you," Jake said coming into the house.

"Yep, still me," I said with a nod.

"So, Charlie said you wanted to talk to me?" Jake asked.

"Yeah, but before we do, how are the Clearwaters doing?" I asked.

"Sue's doing the best she can; Seth's trying to be there for his mom; Leah's taking it pretty hard though," Jake answered with a wince. "But, I don't think it's just her dad."

"What do you mean by that?" I asked confused.

"I'll explain later; it's kind of a lot to process," Jake hesitated. "What did you want to talk about with me really?"

"Can we talk in the backyard?" I asked him.

"Wait, Bells, are you scared of me?" Jake asked in a hurt tone.

"I would never be afraid of you, Jake. I am afraid of how you may react to what I have to tell you," I replied honestly.

"Okay, let's go talk out back," Jake nodded. We walked out the back door and near the tree by my bedroom window.

"Okay, what am I not gonna like?" Jake asked.

"So that whole thing about stopping Edward from the Volturi?" I started. "Yeah, it didn't go well." Then I told him about stopping Edward from revealing himself in the sun, how the Volturi brought us down to their 'throne room' and the ultimatum that they gave the three of us.

"So, let me get this straight: either you have to become a leech like these guys or they're going to kill you?" Jake asked barely controlling his shaking. "What kind of shit did you get yourself involved in Bella?"

"Look Jake, I know this is bad," I started to reason with him.

"Bad? Me ratting you out to Charlie about the motorcycles would be bad; this is a FUBAR situation Bells!" Jake yelled at me.

"FUBAR?" I questioned him.

"Fucked up beyond All Recognition," Jake said trying to calm himself.

"Yeah, you're right: FUBAR," I agreed with a nod.

"Bella, how the hell can you be so calm about this?" Jake questioned me. "Did you already agree to this?" He asked with a hurt look in his eye.

"No, I told the Cullens at one point that was what I wanted; because of what happened between Edward and I, it didn't seem like it would make sense for them to have me be part of their family," I tried to explain thinking it would calm him down. If anything, I think I just made him mad again, because he started vibrating again.

"So you're just going to let them kill you," Jake said trying to keep his voice even.

"Of course not! I have a plan," I said.

"That plan better not be something stupid like you running away," Jake seethed. I was silent at that point.

"Bella, you can't leave," Jake said hurt. "Think of what that'll do to Charlie, the rest of the pack," He continued on. "Think about what it would do to me."

"I am thinking about all of you!" I yelled. "If they come here to Forks, you're all in danger."

"You really think we can't take care of ourselves," Jake said indignantly.

"Not against all of them," I told him. "It's not like going after Victoria or Laurent. There's a huge number of them, more than the pack can take on alone."

"You can't leave, Bells. At least not like this," Jake tried to reason with me. "Think about it: you only have a couple months of school left and you'll be going to college. At least let that be the reason you leave, instead of trying to run away because of what that leech did to you," he finished.

I looked at my friend, and maybe it was because of how emotionally raw I felt, but I reached up and kissed him. I needed to see if these feelings were just because I felt alone or if there was really something there.

 _For one brief, never-ending second, an entirely different path expanded behind the lids of my tear-wet eyes. As if I were looking through the filter of Jacob's thoughts, I could see exactly what I was going to give up, exactly what this new self-knowledge would not save me from losing. I could see Charlie and Renée mixed into a strange collage with Billy and Sam and La Push. I could see years passing, and meaning something as they passed, changing me. I could see the enormous red-brown wolf that I loved, always standing as protector if I needed him. For the tiniest fragment of a second, I saw the bobbing heads of two small, black-haired children, running away from me into the familiar forest. When they disappeared, they took the rest of the vision with them._

I broke away from him and opened my eyes to see him looking back at me. He went to speak, but stopped when it seemed as he smelled something unpleasant.

"Come on, we can finish talking inside," Jake said guiding me back to the house. Just as we hit the first step, I could have sworn I heard a tree snapping in the distance.

Once we got into the house, Jake sat down at the kitchen table and I leaned against the counter. I must have stunned him into silence because it took a full five minutes until I finally broke the silence.

"Jake, please say something," I pleaded.

"Sorry, I'm still trying to process what just happened. Did we really just kiss?" Jake asked in a confused tone.

"Yeah, we did," I answered.

"Wow, I guess I just thought that it would be different," Jake said.

"What do you mean by different?" I asked confused.

"I mean I thought I would have felt a lot of passion behind it, but now I feel weird about it," He replied in an equally confused tone. At that point I sat across from him.

"Tell me what's going through your head right now," I told him.

"I mean, when we kissed, there was this whole future going through my head," he responded honestly. "But the weird part about it is, I didn't see Charlie or you in this vision; instead there was some other girl." Now that shocked me.

"Did you know her?" I asked.

"Maybe, it was kind of hazy," Jake answered quietly. "Bella, I just have to say this: I love you, but at the same time I know it won't be enough." I tried to hold back a sob, whether from sadness or relief I couldn't figure out.

 _"_ _He's like a drug for you, Bella." His voice was still gentle, not at all critical. "I see that you can't live without him now. It's too late. But I would have been healthier for you. Not a drug; I would have been the air, the sun."_ _  
_

 _The corner of my mouth turned up in a wistful half-smile. "I used to think of you that way, you know. Like the sun. My personal sun. You balanced out the clouds nicely for me."_

 _He sighed. "The clouds I can handle. But I can't fight with an eclipse."_

"I'm sorry, I shouldn't have…"I started but Jake stopped me.

"No, Bella, I'm actually kind of glad it happened." He said with a half-smile. "It means I may still be able to keep you as my friend instead of almost breaking you again."

I smiled through the tears that had just started to fall. "That's a good thing," I said. "I don't want to lose you either."

Jake sighed and started to speak again, "I guess it showed I still haven't imprinted yet."

"Wait, what's imprinting?" I asked him"I don't think you ever mentioned that to me before."

Jake sat up and cleared his throat, trying to think of a way to explain it to me. " _It's not like love at first sight, really. It's more like… gravity moves. When you see her, suddenly it's not the earth holding you here anymore. She does. And nothing matters more than her. And you would do anything for her, be anything for her… You become whatever she needs you to be, whether that's a protector, or a lover, or a friend, or a brother."_

"And I guess you didn't imprint on me," I said in understanding.

"Nope, I just love you," Jake said with a smile that started to fade a little. "In a way, I really should be thanking you for kissing me. If you hadn't done that, things could have gotten awkward between us."

"You mean, more awkward than this?" I joked.

Jake laughed at that, but got serious again. "Did I ever tell you about how Sam and Emily actually got together?" He asked me.

"No, I just remember you telling me that Sam got angry one day and Emily got too close," I replied. At that point, Jake tried to explain to me the situation with Sam, Emily, and surprisingly Leah. He told me how Sam and Leah used to date, that Sam 'imprinted' on Emily; how now that Leah went through the transformation too, she took every opportunity to remind him of that in wolf form. When I asked how she could do that, he then told me about how they communicate with each other mentally since they couldn't speak.

"So that's what you meant when you said it was more than just Harry passing when it came to Leah," I said in understanding.

"Yep," Jake agreed. "And that's also the reason I'm glad we did talk; if I find my imprint, I don't want to hurt you like Sam did Leah."

"Your friendship means a lot to me, Bella and I don't want to lose that for anything," Jake said as he got up to leave.

"Can you do a couple things for me?" Jake asked as he stood in front of me.

"Name them," I responded with a nod.

"One: find something outside the Cullens that makes you happy," He started.

"Okay, I'll try," I said with a smile.

"Two: trust that somehow between the Cullens and us, we will protect you from Victoria and these Volturi," Jake continued in a serious tone. All I could do was nod; I knew that they could keep me safe, I just didn't want them hurt.

"Finally, if you do leave, promise that you'll at least come and say good-bye," Jake looked at me sincerely.

"I will, whether it's for college or before, I promise to leave the right way," I told him. He pulled me into a tight hug and walked towards the front door to leave. I followed behind him and watched him leave on his bike. After locking the door, I turned around to double check the back door and came face to face with Edward.

 **I know what you're thinking: she hasn't posted a real chapter since the end of July and then leaves us with a cliffie like this! Chapter 9 is coming soon, I promise! Speaking of not posting for a while: sorry for the fake-out update, but I know how I feel when I get really into a story and the author hasn't said when they're going to post next. I just wanted you all to know what was going on. Thanks for the well wishes about my family visit and thank you again for your patience! And to all the new followers, welcome :)**

 **xoxo**


	9. Chapter 9

**A/N: Hi! So general consensus, most people were happy with the Jake/Bella closure. Jake will still be making appearances through the story, just not as another love interest. This story is meant for Bella to find herself :) Of course I left off last chapter with Edward going all stalker mode, but I needed to start with his POV this chapter so you can see what lead up to this decision. Like I mentioned in the summary for the story, the characters are a little OOC...please try not to be to mad at me if there is a way they're behaving you don't like!**

 **So, yeah, _Twilight_ 's not mine...we all know that *sigh***

" _We can't all be saints and martyrs."_ ** _  
_ _―_ _Stephenie Meyer_ _,_ _Eclipse_**

 **EPOV**

I spent the last 12 hours since Bella left cooped up in my room. This is probably the first time since I was reborn into this existence that I was glad I couldn't sleep; the idea that my Bella could leave me would have kept me awake. I knew that things wouldn't be easy for us if I returned, but I thought that Bella's stubbornness would have kept her from believing that I truly didn't want her anymore. Her words were still echoing in my head:

" _You left me because you believed that I wasn't safe in your world, right?" Bella asked rhetorically. "Well that's bullshit. You see, I had a bit of an epiphany as we left Volterra. You didn't leave because you thought me being around vampires was unsafe; you left because you thought my feelings would change," Bella accused me. "My pathetic, little human feelings couldn't comprehend just how much love you had for me, right?"_

" _I told you, I just wanted to spend that day with you!" she continued. "But no, you just ignored my wishes and helped Alice throw a party for me anyway. I end up with stitches that could have been avoided; I end up with a gaping hole in my chest days later after you fucking rip my heart out and play on every last insecurity about our relationship I ever had! Maybe it's not other vampires I need to be protected from Edward, maybe it's just you," Bella concluded._

" _Edward," she said with a false sweetness. "Your 'sorry' doesn't mean shit to me."_

But there was one thing that she said that continued to give me hope; that we weren't over:

" _I love you with every fiber of my being. I was willing to become like you so that we would never be separated by death or disease."_

 _"I love you with every fiber of my being."_

 _"_ _I love you."_

 _I love you._ Those three words would be my mantra; no matter how angry she was at this point, she still loved me. I had made up my mind, I was going to see Bella today; Charlie, Alice, everyone be damned if they thought they were going to stop me from seeing her.

I went to take a quick shower, changed my clothes and dashed down the stairs. Emmett and Jasper were sitting in front of the TV playing Call of Duty, Rosalie was reading her latest issue of _Popular Mechanics_ magazine, and Carlisle and Esme were sitting at the dining room table that never really needed use. However there was one particular little vampire that was missing.

"Has anyone seen Alice?" I questioned.

"Nope," Emmett replied quickly.

"Not since last night," Jazz added just as fast. I tried to read them to see if they were just trying to cover for her; all I saw was their strategies on trying to beat one another.

"If you're actually that concerned, genius, call her," Rose quipped from the couch in her usual bored tone. Just as I started to reach for my cell phone the front door opened and I could smell her.

 _My Bella, she had come back to me_. Little did I realize, it was just my sister. Wait: Alice had spent the night with Bella, but refused to let me anywhere near her? This ended now.

"Shit," I heard Alice mutter under her breath. "Hey everybody," she greeted out loud.

There was a chorus of hellos and Jasper asked the burning question: "Where have you been all night?"

"That is a very good question," I agreed with Jazz.

"I am 104 years old, last I checked. I don't need to answer to anyone, especially not you," Alice spat at me.

"Then why do you smell like _my_ girlfriend?" I questioned her.

"I smell like _my friend_ because I'm trying to make sure I remember what she looks like since a certain someone won't change her," she snapped at me.

"Don't just put this on me! Rosalie voted no too," I replied childishly.

"MY vote wouldn't have mattered to her," Rosalie responded. "I'm not the one who she would have chosen to bond themselves to this life for love."

"Yeah, I'm going over there," I declared with a roll of my eyes. I waited for Alice to say or think something sarcastic, but I was surprisingly met with silence.

"What, no warning today?" I snarled at her.

"Whatever happens is on you big brother," she responded walking towards the stairs.

I decided to drive and park about a block away from Bella's house, unaware if her father was actually home. I ran around the woods near her house and prepared myself for what I would say and then I smelled it: Wolf scent.

I saw the rebuilt motorcycle parked outside of her house; the man cub must have been paying her a visit.

I heard them talking calmly inside the house and then my angel asked him to step outside. I looked and saw that Jacob had to have grown at least a foot and a half since I had left; he also wasn't the gangly limbed boy anymore, but I didn't care about him.

My Bella, my reason for existence was standing out in the yard. Her hair was in a simple ponytail and she wore her usual t-shirt and jeans; I hadn't noticed while we were in Italy, Bella seemed a little bit thinner than she was before I left. Nothing that couldn't be fixed with Esme wanting to cook for her.

Then I heard her tell him about what happened to us in Volterra. I noticed him shaking, but I knew from past experience it wasn't from being cold. Luckily for him, he had the good sense to step away from her. Then he had the nerve to complain about the situation, as if it were up to him to decide what was good for Bella. Then, he tried to guilt her into staying…well that I didn't mind if he succeeded.

" _Bella, you can't leave," Jake said hurt. "Think of what that'll do to Charlie, the rest of the pack," He continued on. "Think about what it would do to me."_

" _I am thinking about all of you!" she yelled. "If they come here to Forks, you're all in danger."_

" _You really think we can't take care of ourselves," Jake said indignantly._

 _"Not against all of them," she told him. "It's not like going after Victoria or Laurent. There's a huge number of them, more than the pack can take on alone."_ Victoria had been her the whole time? I left her and all hell had broken loose.

" _You can't leave, Bells. At least not like this," Jake tried to reason with her. "Think about it: you only have a couple months of school left and you'll be going to college. At least let that be the reason you leave, instead of trying to run away because of what that leech did to you," he finished._

Then something that I simultaneously had hoped she would be able to do and dreaded she actually would: Bella. Kissed. Someone. Else. And not just a random someone else, Jacob fucking Black!

I gripped the tree next to me I thought in a gentle manner, but when they had broken apart and he was about to speak, the trunk split under my hands. Sensing either I was there or another vampire was in the area, he had the common sense to bring Bella back into the house.

All I could do was sit there and just shut down. Bella had actually moved on with someone else; her happiness to see me in Volterra, Alice's vision, everything began to feel like a lie. I couldn't focus on anything else; sure maybe Bella did stay here in Forks, but she would have Jacob to keep her company. He could love her, be with her in ways that I never could and it burned me to the core.

The life I claimed I wanted her to have when I left back in September, was happening right in front of me and I couldn't do anything to stop it. No, I wouldn't be defeated; I could show Bella just how committed I was to making our relationship work. I would find Victoria and show Bella that I will always protect her.

I got up, brushed off the dirt from my pants, and walked slowly towards Bella's house. The dog was still there, so I had to bide my time. When I got close enough, Jacob was having Bella make him a couple promises.

" _Can you do a couple things for me?" He asked._

 _"Name them," Bella responded._

 _"One: find something outside the Cullens that makes you happy," He started._ How dare he try to keep her away from us!

 _"Okay, I'll try," she said._ Damn _._

 _"Two: trust that somehow between the Cullens and us, we will protect you from Victoria and these Volturi," Jake continued in a serious tone._ I didn't hear her respond, but I hoped she knew that he was right about that part. Our family would always protect her.

 _"Finally, if you do leave, promise that you'll at least come and say good-bye," Jake asked her sincerely._

" _I will, whether it's for college or before, I promise to leave the right way," she told him._

 _So he didn't have as much hold on her as he thought_ , I thought darkly. I heard their footsteps moving towards the front door and I tried the knob on the back door. They left it open, so I walked in and shut the door silently behind me. She waved to Jacob as he left on his bike and closed the door. She turned to come and presumably lock up the back door when she came face to face with me.

 **BPOV**

"Edward, what the hell are you doing in my house?" I yelled at him.

"Why was Jacob Black here?" He dared to ask me.

"You answer my question first," I challenged him. "You came into my house without being invited in and I sure as shit didn't ask you to come over. So, I'll ask again: what are you doing here?"

"I came to talk to you because there was no other way to make you see reason," Edward told me. "Now, why was Jacob Black here?"

I looked at him in annoyance. "See reason in what sense, Edward. I'm not answering your question until you stop being so fucking cryptic!"

"I came to try and convince you not to leave, Bella," Edward said. "The Volturi will follow you wherever you run, you can't escape them."

"Whatever I do, it's not up to you anymore. You gave that up when you left," I told him. "And not that it's any of your damn business, Jake was here because I didn't like how I left things when I went with Alice to keep _you_ from doing something stupid," I concluded trying to walk away from him.

"So did that include you feeling so guilty you would kiss him?" He asked me bitterly.

I turned around to face him. If looks could kill, Jake and I would have been six feet under.

"You were spying on us?" I spat at him.

"When were you going to tell me you moved on with Jacob Black?" Edward spat back at me.

"Stop avoiding questions with other questions!" I snapped at him.

"I was trying to gather my thoughts, see what I was going to say to you and then I saw him here with you and I didn't want you to feel like you would be in the middle of a fight," Edward explained to me.

"Oh, now you care about how I feel?" I asked him sarcastically.

"Now who's avoiding?" He asked in a sarcastic tone matching mine.

"In case you forgot, you said you wanted me to move on, have a normal life; any of that ringing a bell?" I said to him.

"Yeah, I said normal, not run off with the first werewolf you grew close with," he responded.

"I didn't know Jake was a wolf until recently," I admitted to him. "And if I do or don't move on with Jacob, that is not your business."

"It is my business if he hurts you," Edward said.

"He can't hurt me any worse than you!" I snapped. "You broke me, ripped me to shreds and Jake was there to pick up the pieces. I might not be completely whole, but I'm better than I was seven months ago."

" _After all the thousand times I've told you I love you, how could you let one word break your faith in me? I could see it in your eyes, that you honestly believed that I didn't want you anymore. The most absurd, ridiculous concept—as if there were any way that I could exist without needing you!"_ Edward said while trying to reach my face, but I moved away from his grasp.

"Well, you sure as hell are a better actor than I gave you credit for because I believed that," I said in a scarily even tone.

"Bella, I'm trying to fix this; I'm trying to fix us," Edward said in a pleading tone.

"It's hard to fix things that were broken from the beginning," I told him.

"Don't say that, Bella," He pleaded again.

"How can I not? _You_ were always the one making decisions that _you_ thought were best _for me_ and never _with me!_ There was never any balance in our relationship because you put me on a pedestal and made yourself to be the martyr," I told him. "But now, I'm making my own decisions: starting with this, WE. ARE. OVER." I concluded.

"Bella don't do this, I'm begging you," Edward said to me.

"Get out of my house, Edward," I told him as I walked towards the front door to let him out.

"I'm not leaving until we really talk this through," He said gripping my wrist.

"Edward, let go! You're hurting me," I winced. Suddenly, I saw a perfectly manicured hand reach out and grabbed his wrist.

"Let her go, or you'll be one of the few vampires in existence that's missing a limb," Rosalie threatened him. Edward and I both looked at her in shock, but he did let go. Alice appeared out of nowhere to and checked my arm.

"Great, now she's going to start bruising. We should let Charlie lock your pathetic ass up in jail," Alice growled at him.

"What are you both doing here?" I asked as my voice came back.

"Alice had a vision that Stalkerward over her would do something stupid," Rosalie answered as she and Edward were still engaged in their death stare contest.

"You need to go Edward, Charlie will be here in three minutes," Alice warned him.

"I'm not leaving until Bella and I get things sorted out," Edward said continuing to give Rosalie the evil eye.

"Edward, if any part of you loved me like you claim, you'll just go. Please," my voice broke pathetically at the end; now I was starting to feel some soreness from where Edward had grabbed me. He finally broke his gaze from Rosalie and looked at the same wrist Alice was now putting ice on, noticing the bruises that were surely appearing. He looked devastated; the one thing that he would promise over and over is that he would never hurt me.

He finally walked past his sisters and I as he walked towards the back door. Before he left, he looked at me and if he could have shed tears, he would be right now. "I'm so sorry, Bella," He whispered in a broken voice and left.

 **I know, I'm evil for leaving it at another cliffie! Especially one like this...**

 **So, yeah basically this story not only changes the events of _New Moon_ , but as you can tell it deals with some themes from _Eclipse_ too. (Hence some _Eclipse_ quotes being used now too!)**

 **Bella has officially broken up with Edward, and now the plot thickens... I'm making this sound way more dramatic that it is, but really; we are getting ready to get into the good stuff-like how this is going to affect the rest of their senior year.**

 **As always, thank you for reading and following the story. Leave me your reviews and hope you guys have a great weekend! See you soon with Chapter 10!**

 **xoxo**


	10. Chapter 10

**A/N: *peeks from around a corner* Hey, long time no chapter right? Sorry about that, my writing mojo felt off from this past week. That and I've been watching a lot of Henry Cavill tribute videos on Youtube. If you don't know who he is, he's the latest actor to play Superman (and also Stephanie Meyer's first choice to play Edward) and also, Good God that man is beautiful! So without further ado, here is chapter 10!**

 **Sadly I don't own _Twilight_ and I don't date Henry, but in my own mind I have a better shot at one of those!**

 **P.S. I just realized I posted the breakup chapter on Edward and Bella's wedding anniversary...awkward...**

 _Two voices struggled inside me. One that wanted to be good and brave, and one that told the good one to keep her mouth shut._ _  
_ _ **Bella Swan, Eclipse by Stephanie Meyer**_

 **BPOV**

I sat in silence as Edward left the house.

"Bella, are you okay?" Rosalie asked.

"I think so?" my answer came out more like a question.

"Do you mean physically or emotionally?" Alice asked.

"I was kind of wondering about both," Rosalie replied.

"My arm is okay, just a little bruised. I can cover that since it's still pretty cool out," I started. "Emotionally, that may be a different story." Alice and Rosalie looked at me with a confused expression on both of their faces. Alice seemed like she was going to ask me what I meant by that, but my father was pulling into the driveway.

"Let's deal with your dad first and we'll finish this conversation after that, okay?" Alice requested. I nodded my head to show I understood. The girls took a seat at the kitchen table and I covered my arm so that Charlie wouldn't see the bruises that had started to form.

"Bells, why is there a red BMW in the driveway?" He called out in lieu of a greeting. "Oh, I didn't know we had a couple more guests," he added with a raised eyebrow.

"I'm sorry about that, Chief. We meant to call but we got a little busy around the house," Alice said with a dazzling grin.

"And I don't believe we've met; I'm Rosalie Hale, Edward's older sister," Rosalie said greeting Charlie with a handshake. Wow, she was really trying to sell this wasn't she? Charlie cleared his throat, apparently dazed by the two sisters.

"Well, it's nice to meet you, Rosalie. And under some slightly better circumstances I might add," Charlie managed to get out.

"I agree, and on behalf of our family, I would like to apologize for what happened. Edward led us to believe that this was a decision that they mutually agreed on," Rosalie articulated.

"Well, thank you and I appreciate that," Charlie responded. "I always believed your family were good people, still do; forgive me if I don't fully extend that to your brother."

"Believe us, Charlie, we understand completely," Alice piped in. "We're not too thrilled with him at the moment either."

"Well, while unexpected, I am glad you girls are here," Charlie confessed.

"Is everything okay, Dad?" I asked.

"I got a call while I was down at the rez; there's been another disappearance in Seattle. Normally we wouldn't be involved, but the person missing is another local," Charlie returned.

"I was reading about that while we were away," Rosalie added. "They still didn't find this Riley Biers that went missing?"

"Unfortunately not, but now a classmate of his named Cassandra Reynolds who's from here as well went missing around the same time you disappeared to Atlanta," Charlie said.

"Now I get what you meant by saying I picked a hell of a time to run off," I replied to my dad.

"Yeah, I just had to come back to change into my uniform," Charlie said. "Would you ladies do me a favor since you are here? Would you mind keeping Bella company; I hate to leave her with nobody here," he requested of the girls.

"That wouldn't be a problem at all; we've been wanting to catch up with her anyway," Rosalie responded with sympathy.

"Are you girls sure you'll be okay?" Charlie asked with concern.

"We'll be just fine, chief," Alice responded with a wink. "Jasper and Emmett would be here at the drop of a hat if they think anything's wrong."

"Alright, sounds like a plan. Bells, be sure you girls have everything locked up tight when I leave," Charlie instructed as he went up the stairs.

Once Charlie was out of earshot, Alice turned to ask me, "What did you mean when you said 'emotionally it was a different story?'"

"I'm literally going through so many different emotions with your brother right now, I'm glad for Jasper's sake Charlie didn't ask you guys to take me over to your house," I answered honestly.

"Considering how Charlie feels about our pig-headed brother, that was probably the last thing he was going to ask us," Rosalie retorted.

Charlie came down the stairs a few seconds later, dressed in his uniform.

"Alright, this may be an overnight thing. Are you girls sure you're all going to be okay?" Charlie asked, unaware that he had two of the most dangerous creatures in the world sitting at his kitchen table.

"We'll be okay, dad," I promised him. "Like Alice said, Jasper and Emmett can be here in a moment's notice if they need to be. I'm sure the guys at La Push will help out too, if we need that much backup."

Charlie grabbed his wallet and pulled out a 20 dollar bill. "Just in case you girls wanted to order a pizza for dinner," he said placing the bill on the kitchen table. "Be careful and see you girls in the morning."

We told my dad good-bye and he walked out the front door.

"Don't worry, he'll be okay," Alice reassured me with a smile. Rosalie double checked the front and back doors to make sure they were locked and took a seat in my dad's recliner.

"So are we going to talk about what happened today or not?" She called out from the living room. Alice and I both walked in to sit on the sofa and Rosalie looked on with an interested expression.

"So Alice, you already know that Jake came over this afternoon," I started. She nodded, remembering the request I had made to my dad this morning.

"That explains why it smells a bit like wet dog in here," Rosalie commented while wrinkling her nose.

"Be nice," I told her. "He helped me out a lot while you guys were gone."

"A mutt's still a mutt," She said with a shrug of her shoulders.

"Okay so what happened?" Alice asked impatiently. So I told them about everything: how Jake now knew about what happened in Volterra, how he begged me not to leave; when I got to the kiss, both girls looked at me in shock.

"We'll come back to that later because I know there has to be more to the story," Rosalie said when she found her voice.

I continued to tell them about how Jake and I hashed out our feelings, agreeing we should only remain friends; I didn't tell them about Jake's imprinting confession-that seemed a bit too personal. Finally I got to the part where Jake left and I came face to face with Edward.

"Well that explains why I couldn't see what Stalkerward was up to," Alice huffed.

"You mean you can't see around the wolves?" Rosalie questioned.

"Nope, their futures can change too rapidly because of their shifting," Alice said discouraged. "I couldn't see Edward until around where we came in after he grabbed your wrist."

"But you knew Edward was coming over," Rosalie accused and I looked at Alice in surprise.

"He needed to see the fact that what he did would have an effect on you," Alice said unapologetically.

"However, I wasn't expecting him to grab your wrist; I didn't mean for you to get hurt," She added on sadly.

"So besides the obvious, what else would have made Edward lose control like that?" Rosalie questioned.

"I broke up with him," I sighed. Again, I was met with silence.

"But I thought you still love him," Alice asked me.

"I do still love him, Alice," I replied with my head in my hands.

"However, I'm pissed at him; I don't get to choose whether or not I want a life of immortality anymore; I hate that this will affect Charlie and Renee when I stop coming around; Jake and I will be enemies, and I can't handle all this," I finally admitted, breaking down in tears I thought I had already shed. Both girls rushed over to hug me and attempt to comfort me.

After a while, my tears subsided and I was able to calm myself down.

"You were right: poor Jazz would have been driven up the wall if you were over at our house," Rosalie said. The three of us had to laugh at that.

"It may sound crazy, but did you think of talking to somebody about how you're feeling?" Rosalie questioned.

"It might help you to figure out exactly what you want to do or at the very least, not want to find a lighter every time my brother is near."

"Yeah, maybe I'll speak to the new counselor at school. They made the announcement that they were going to bring her on after spring break," I told the girls.

"So, what did prompt that kiss between you and Jake?" Alice asked me.

"I don't know if it was anger at your brother or if I had some feelings that had just been bottled up for the last few months, but I just needed to feel something different," I admitted.

"I don't blame you-anger's one hell of an emotion," Rosalie agreed. "It's what's been keeping this red-headed bitch going for the better part of a year," she added with a snarl.

"Don't worry we'll deal with her," Alice promised her with a sneer. "I just want to know what her deal is; her gift has to be evasion because I can never pin her down either."

I suddenly had another epiphany: "What if Victoria is kidnapping these people from Forks?"

Both girls looked at me as if I had grown another head. "No, I'm being serious; what if she were creating other vampires to try and keep the wolves busy so she could try to get me alone somehow?" I questioned them.

While the girls continued to try and process that, I continued on. "Alice, you just said yourself she must know somehow you have some trouble seeing her. Maybe she's doing this at random so you can't see who her next target is."

"That actually is starting to make sense," Alice started.

"And if she somehow knows we're back, she may try to double up on those efforts," Rosalie concluded.

"Shit," Alice silently cursed to herself.

"We'll deal with her soon enough. Our main priority is keeping you safe, whether from the Volturi or Victoria," she promised.

"Okay," I said with a nod. The thought that just one vampire was out to get me was bad enough, but then adding in an ancient group that dictates the laws too-not good. At least with the Volturi, I may have a chance: Aro thought I was special already; maybe he would change me, but then I'd have to be a part of the Volturi guard.

Then again, Victoria has been hunting me for the better part of a year. She sent Laurent to try and find me; Edward killed James relatively quick. However, I had a feeling Victoria would want to drag my death out slowly, painfully, and more than likely with an audience.

And they say high school is hell…

 **I realize this is probably a strange place to leave off, but next chapter is going to focus more on the girls repairing/ building their friendship. Also, Edward needs to sit in a corner and think about what he's done for another chapter. So fingers crossed, next chapter will be up sooner rather than later! Thank you guys so much for reading, following, and reviewing!**

 **xoxo**


	11. Chapter 11

**A/N: Yeah, I'm not even going to begin to bore you guys with the reasons I've been gone and why this chapter has taken so long to be posted. Thank you for being patient, thank you to new followers and sorry this took so long!**

 **I don't own _Twilight,_ yada yada yada...**

 _"You've got to have a little more confidence in us than that. It's insulting."  
― **Stephenie Meyer** , **New Moon**_

 **BPOV**

After my meltdown and our theories about why people from Forks are mysteriously going missing, Alice suggested that Rose and I talk while she went out to grab some pizza for me.

"So, be honest with me, Bella," Rosalie started. "Why did you really vote no? Why even have the family vote if you made that choice?"

"At that point, Rosalie, I just wanted to hurt Edward as badly as I had been hurt," I admitted. "But the more that I think about it, I don't know if I truly want this life anymore."

"Tell me why you wanted it in the first place," Rosalie asked me with an interested tone.

"I wanted to be Edward's equal in every way possible," I told her. "We could have been forever frozen at 17 together; he'd never have to worry about me being in an accident or dying from disease. I guess I romanticized the idea a lot more than I realized," I continued.

"I will admit, films and TV shows over the years have given us some kind of complex," Rosalie responded with a giggle. "But Bella, I was honest when I said that I wouldn't have chosen this life for myself."

"What happened before you were turned? What was your life like?" I asked her.

"My story isn't for the faint of heart," Rosalie warned me. She saw me adjust myself to be more comfortable on the couch and silently acknowledged that I was willing to hear her story.

She took a deep breath to calm her nerves and then she began. "I was born in 1915 in Rochester, NY. My father worked in a bank and that kept us very well off, even during the Great Depression. My mother was a housewife and took care of my two little brothers."

"Even by mortal standards, people considered me to be very beautiful. I never truly longed for attention or wealth. I didn't tend to feel envy towards anyone, except my best friend Vera," she continued with a slight chuckle. I must have looked confused as to why she would be envious of her friend, so Rosalie began telling me her story again.

"You actually remind me of Vera: she viewed herself as plain, but she had a natural beauty that interested people. She also had something I wished for; a loving husband who came home to her every night after work and a beautiful little boy named Henry."

She paused and even I could tell this would be a hard part of her story to tell. "My father worked for a man by the name of Royce King. He was the wealthiest man in the city and his son, Royce II was the most eligible bachelor. My mother tried so hard to set me up with him and eventually she succeeded. We were engaged shortly after we met."

"Did you love him at all?" I asked her, wondering if that's why she missed her human life so much.

"There was no love between us, Bella, trust me," Rosalie said with a sardonic chuckle.

"I was young and naïve, thinking maybe love would come in time. On the last night of my life, I was leaving Vera's house and it was starting to get dark. Like I mentioned before the only time I had really been jealous was of Vera's marriage; she had a husband who worked as a carpenter. He provided their family with a comfortable life, always came home at the same time every night and kissed her as if she were the only woman on Earth."

Rosalie's stare turned hallow and then I realized this would be the hard part of her story. "While I was wrapped up in my own thoughts about how I wished I could have been in a relationship filled with that much love, I didn't notice Royce and his friends on the corner," She stated.

"You didn't even have to be close to them to tell just how drunk they were. Royce spotted me and brings me over to his friends; 'Look how beautiful my Rosalie is,' he said to them. It was even worse than usual when he brought me around his friends because they were sober most of the time I was around them and they would still look at me as if I weren't human- just some kind of trophy," Rosalie continued.

I didn't know if I could handle hearing what happened to Rosalie. Probably noticing the tears that were welling up in my eyes while listening to her story, she said in a soft voice, "You were lucky to have my brother in Port Angeles that night. He might not admit it, but I think knowing what happened to me all those years ago made him hyper-protective of you. In a way, I think he wanted some kind of penance for not catching Royce and his friends; it was shortly after his 'rebellious phase' as he likes to call it when he hunted for the minds of thieves, murderers, and rapists."

"Carlisle was walking home from the hospital when he could smell the blood," Rosalie said with a shaky voice. She cleared her throat and took a deep breath.

"He found me and thought it would be a waste if I had died. He was also hoping that Edward and I could have shared what he and Esme have."

"Edward never told me that," I responded quietly.

"I could imagine he wouldn't," Rosalie said with a smirk. "It took us a while to get to where we are now, but we couldn't fathom not having each other."

"So what happened after you were changed?" I asked.

"Carlisle was hoping I would join the family immediately, but I was much too resentful at that point. So night after night, I slowly took my revenge on each one of Royce's friends. I was careful to not spill their blood; the thought of any part of them being inside me again made me sick to my stomach," She replied.

"Royce, I needed to be last. I wanted to see absolute terror on his face before he died, just like he left me. I stole a wedding dress for the occasion; I was a bit more theatrical back then," she continued. "After that, I found Carlisle and asked him to teach me how to hunt like he did; I hated the thought of taking an innocent person's life just because I had this hunger. I also didn't want to wander around in this 'life' alone."

At that point, Alice walked in with the pizza.

"I saw this was a safer time to come in," she said quietly. She put the pizza down and was sitting next to me on the couch before I could blink.

"Besides, this is the happier part of the story," she chirped. Rosalie rolled her eyes in playful annoyance with her sister.

"So how did Emmett come into the family?" I asked. A soft smile spread across Rosalie's face when I mentioned him.

"We had settled in Tennessee for close to a year when I found him," she began. "Emmett had been hunting and was attacked by a bear. I was close by and I found him; something about his face even though it was scratched up reminded me of Vera's little boy, Henry and I had to save him. I ran over 100 miles to the house we were living in and I begged Carlisle to change him for me."

I'm sure I looked over at her skeptically because she responded, "Now telling you about it, I realize how hypocritical I sound in having Emmett changed because I wanted to keep him; however, Emmett would have died and I don't know where I would be without him. He's who I should have been with before I was turned, even if my parents didn't approve of him."

"So why do you not want Bella to be changed, even though I've seen it numerous times?" Alice asked as she brought me a slice of pizza.

"The difference between Emmett and Bella is Emmett was near death; Bella still has so much life ahead of her, she can still have children if she wanted," Rosalie answered honestly. "Why would you want to give that up?" she directed at me.

"That was never something I had thought of for myself," I admitted to her. "Between taking care of my dad the summers I was here and making sure my mom's life ran smoothly, I felt like the parent in our relationships. The idea of having kids didn't appeal to me."

We sat silently as we both tried to process what the other said; I think I finally understood.

"So it's not me you hated, it was my humanity," I said to Rosalie even though it came out like a question.

"I never hated you Bella," Rosalie said, surprising Alice and me. "I'm not saying I particularly liked you either; I did and still do envy you," she admitted. "Well, not your current situation, but you know what I mean."

"Yeah, I do," I said with an air of recognition. "Before everything with the Volturi, I still had a choice. I can try to run, but I can't outrun them forever."

Rosalie and I both turned to Alice and said, "Don't say it!"

"Well, go figure that would bring the two of you together," Alice said with a roll of her eyes. "I am glad you two were able to have a civil conversation though."

"I guess she's not that bad," Rosalie said with a slight smirk.

"Rosalie Hale, did you just give me somewhat of a compliment?" I jokingly asked.

"If you tell anyone, I will deny it like hell," Rosalie replied. "And Bella, if you are eventually going to be part of the family, call me Rose."

Alice looked like if she could cry happy tears she would.

"Rose," I started. "Your brother doesn't want me to be part of the family."

"Please my brother is ridiculously in love with you, but he's too stubborn to actually realize he needs to get out of his own way," Rose said rolling her eyes. "Also, everyone else is willing to do whatever it takes to protect you. Now that includes me."

 **So I felt like this was a good place to end this chapter. I promised it would be a bit more about the girls bonding; next chapter is going to pick up closer to here and continue on to the first day back to school. By the time most of you read this, I should be starting on chapter 12. Hopefully we can expect it around this same day next week, but I don't want to make any promises because I have family coming in AGAIN this week. I love them, but they take up valuable writing time, sheesh!**

 **Anyway, if you read through all of this so far, thanks again for your patience, your reviews, and following the story! See you soon**

 **XOXO**


	12. Chapter 12

**A/N: Sorry that this is a little late, and it has a bit of a change than what I promised in last chapter. Instead the wolves came out to play; however, they will be needed for Ch. 13- which is when Bella really will be heading back to school.**

 **I don't own _Twilight_ , we pretty much know at this point right?**

" _Romeo wouldn't change his mind. That's why people still remembered his name, always twined with hers"_ _  
_ _―_ _ **Stephenie Meyer**_ _,_ _ **New Moon**_

 **APOV**

"So Alice, what about you?" Bella asked. "What brought you into the Cullen family?"

"I don't remember much of my human life like everyone else does. I did have a little sister named Cynthia and her daughter still lives in Biloxi," I started. "My mother was murdered when I was ten; I had premonitions before I was turned but because it was the turn of the century, people still believed I was a witch or possessed."

"When were you born, Ali?" Rose asked.

"I was born in 1901; Jazz and I did some research while you were healing up from Phoenix. I found out as much as I could from the microfilm and news clippings that they had on my family."

"Do you remember when you were changed or who changed you?" Bella asked curiously. This was my hard truth.

"My father and the woman he married after my mother was killed put me in an asylum in the beginning of 1920. My headstone and the day I was admitted are the same; I suppose I was as good as dead to my father anyway," I said bitterly.

"Anyway, when I was there, they shaved all of my hair off. I was subjected to electric shock therapy and other horrible methods nearly every day I was in there," I told my sisters. Bella's eyes began to water and Rose looked like she would have cried too if she were still able.

"One of the groundskeepers happened to be a vampire. He was kind to me and he tried to limit as much of my suffering as he could. He would bring me small things and still treat me as if I were a normal person," I said with a wistful smile thinking of the last kind soul I had known before being changed.

"It turns out, James was hunting nearby and my scent caught his attention," I continued. Bella gasped while Rosalie hissed. "The vampire who protected me knew of James and his sadistic ways, so he hid me away and bit me. He sacrificed himself for me," my voice breaking because I never got to thank the man who had essentially saved my life.

"By the time James found me, the venom was working through my system and I was halfway changed. When I woke up, meeting Jasper was the first vision I had. I also had a vision of us meeting and becoming a family," I said smiling at Rose.

"I remember that," Rose said fondly. "Emmett and I had just gotten married a second time, and had just come back to be with the family when we spy this little pixie sitting on our doorstep."

"You all looked to Edward to make sure that I wasn't crazy and I was actually seeing these visions," I giggled. "Then a few decades later, I see a brunette come home with Edward. I knew we would be the best of friends," I said to Bella, who ducked her head down.

"And said brunette caused a lot of problems for you," She responded sadly.

"I wouldn't say problems, just occasional hiccups," Rose said with a shrug of her shoulders.

"Those are mighty big hiccups, Rose," Bella countered.

"Eh, what family doesn't have their drama?" Rose replied.

I was happy to see my sisters getting along. Even if I had to do as I told Aro and change her myself, Bella would stay safe and be a Cullen. Suddenly I had a flash of a phone number in my head, so I dialed it on my phone and quickly hung up so that it would show in my call logs.

"Everything okay, Ali?" Rose asked me.

"Yep," I responded.

For the next few hours, Bella asked us about the different places we had lived and visited. She followed those questions with our favorite places were in each location and our favorite memory from that time we were there. Around 9:30, Bella began to yawn.

"Party pooper," Rose teased.

"Sorry, I think all the time changes are catching up. That and it's been a pretty emotional day," Bella responded.

"You should get some rest," I told her. "Don't worry, we'll still be here. We did promise the chief after all."

The three of us climbed the stairs to Bella's room. Rose took everything in while Bella looked for some clothes for us to keep up the charade of spending the night.

"This room feels like you," Rose said. "It's not too overstated, but it's relaxing all the same."

"This is going to take some getting used to," Bella said with a laugh.

"What, my being nicer to you?" Rose joked.

"Yes, please say something somewhat snippy," Bella jokingly pleaded.

"Would it kill you to have some proper fitting clothes in your wardrobe?" Rose said as she looked at the pajamas Bella picked out for us.

"And all has been restored in the universe," Bella sighed.

"Well…" I started.

"Please, not tonight Ali," Bella asked me.

"Okay, I will give you a full 24 hours where we don't talk about you-know-who," I conceded. Bella took her things in the bathroom to finish her preparation for bed while Rosalie and I changed into the pajamas Bella gave us.

Emmett texted me shortly after that. **Edward has been moping around the house all day, what happened pipsqueak?**

I texted him back. _I'll explain a little later. Can you do me a favor? You and Jazz stay on our lands and do a sweep of Victoria's scent. Bella's got a theory of what might be going on._

 **Not a problem, munchkin. Meeting u Bells' house? – Em**

 _Yeah, sounds good. My visions are getting a little hazy so I think that means we may have some unexpected company. – A_

 **Does this company happen to hunt us for ppl's protection? – Em**

 _That they do. - A_

 **Got it. See u soon. Jazz says be careful! – Em**

 _We always are_ _\- A_

"We okay, Alice?" Rose asked. She was checking her phone for news about the situation in Seattle.

"We're fine. The boys are going to do a sweep and meet us here, along with some other company," I told her.

"Does that company occasionally stand on four legs?" She asked.

"Yeah, fingers crossed nothing bad happens," I replied.

Bella came into her room after that. She got in her bed and Rose and I laid on each side above her covers. Before Bella drifted to sleep, Rose asked her "How important to you would my vote be?"

"What do you mean?" Bella and I asked.

"I know that you've technically lost the chance to actually choose this life, but thinking about today-while I still wouldn't choose it for myself, Alice is right. This life brought us all together," Rose responded. "Having you as a sister would make our family whole, whether you-know-who agrees or not. So, how important would my vote be?" Rose asked again.

"It honestly would mean as much to me as his did," Bella admitted.

"Then, I change my vote to 'yes'," Rose said with a gentle smile.

"Thank you," Bella said softly. I would have been a sobbing mess if I could still produce tears. Shortly after Rose's admission, Bella drifted to sleep. Rose and I got up as gently as we could and went downstairs.

"What made you change your mind?" I asked her.

"Bella is meant to be a part of our family," Rose told me. "You've seen it yourself and I have to stop denying that she has brought more of our humanity out; we need her to be part of our family."

"We still have another problem: what about the treaty with the wolves? If we bite Bella, the truce is over," I had to remind Rose.

"Then we have to find some way to reason with them," Rose said with resolve. "Let them know Bella's life is literally at stake. I know they'll blame us, but I hope losing her in a worse way than becoming a vampire by her own choice will make them see that."

"I guess we'll talk to them soon enough," I told her. "My vision just went dark; the wolves must be near."

"Jazz just text me; he and Emmett are 30 seconds out," Rose informed me. We walked out the back door and met the boys in Bella's backyard near the tree by her window.

"Hey ladies, what goes on?" Emmett greeted.

"We might have some trouble, babe," Rose told him.

"Is Bella alright?" Jasper asked with concern.

"She's okay; she just really needs to process this mess that is currently hers and Edward's relationship," I reassured him.

"Is that why he's turned into Emo-ward again?" Emmett whined.

"It's more to the story," I sighed. "We'll talk about it a little later. However, we may have to talk about the family vote."

"What about the vote, darlin'?" Jazz asked me.

"Well, first of all, I changed my vote," Rose said as if she if she were just stating the grass was green.

"Seriously?" Emmett said with a big grin on his face.

"I'd rather she not be defenseless against the Volturi," Rose said trying to conceal her feelings.

"Whatever you say, Rose," Jazz said, knowing the truth.

"But, we still need Bella to approve of it," I said bringing the celebration to a bit of a halt.

"That and we still need to renegotiate the treaty with the wolves," Rose added.

"Speaking of the wolves, anyone else see the glow in the trees?" Jazz said.

"Yeah, I do. You didn't catch a trace of her, right?" Rose responded.

"Nothing; this bitch is good, probably why James liked having her around," Emmett said. The three glowing pairs of eyes disappeared. In their place, Jacob Black and two of the other boys from the tribe appeared.

"I'm surprised you had the nerve to show your sorry faces around here," the older one on Jacob's left said to us.

"Shut up Paul," Jacob silenced him. "They care enough about her too. I'm not blaming the rest of the family for what one decided."

"Thank you for that, Jacob," Jazz started. "We know our family's presence has caused some disruption for your tribe."

"Understatement of the fuckin' century," the one named Paul snarled at us.

"Seriously, dude. Drop it before I have my sister kick your ass. She's been dying to take her anger out on something or someone," the younger looking one said.

"Hi, my name's Seth," he introduced himself with a smile. "It's nice to meet you guys." I don't think any of us could help smiling at him; he was too sweet for his own good. He couldn't have been more than 14 or 15 years old.

"Sorry, he's newer to the pack," Jacob said, with a roll of his eyes at Seth's enthusiasm. "We were coming to make sure the area around Bella's house was secure. What are you guys doing here?"

"Alice and I came to keep Bella company after you left," Rose answered. "We told Chief Swan that we would stay with her tonight."

"Where is Charlie?" Seth asked with concern.

"He had to go to Seattle to help investigate another disappearance," I told him. "From what I was still able to see, he's safe."

"What, you can see the future or something?" Paul sneered.

"As a matter of fact, with the exception of you wolves, yes I can," I sneered back.

"You can't see us?" Jacob asked.

"I think because your futures change so much because of your shifting, I can never really pinpoint you," I admitted. We were going to need their help in order to keep Bella safe; I may as well be honest.

"So, did Bella talk to you about what happened earlier?" Jacob asked.

"Yeah, we know about the conversation you guys had," Rose told him.

"She told me what happened in Volterra; so either she has to become a vampire or she's dead without a way of coming back, right?" Jacob asked with a heavy sigh,

"Essentially, but we have a couple issues: one being Victoria and the other being the treaty," Emmett responded. "We want her to be safe and also have the support of all the people she cares about before she makes a decision like this."

"But…" Paul started.

"Enough," Jacob snarled at him. "This is something the pack and your family need to talk about together. We'll even try to keep it together around your brother," Jacob said to us. I don't know what compelled me to, but I called the number that popped into my vision earlier. Jacob looked at his pocket and pulled out his cell phone.

"Maybe you guys aren't totally in my blind spot," I said with a smug smile on my face.

"This is you, shorty?" Jacob questioned me looking at my number on his screen.

"That would be me," I responded.

"Okay, looks like we'll be in touch then," Jacob said with a nod and a smile. "For right now, let's just agree to stay on our own sides when it comes to protecting Bella."

"Meaning as long as we don't set foot on the rez, we're cool?" Emmett clarified. Jacob nodded his agreement.

"It's a deal," Jasper agreed. "We'll see you guys soon then."

Jacob and Seth nodded, while Paul just scowled at us- a really poor attempt at intimidating us. The three of them retreated into the trees and the faint sound of tearing fabric was the only indication that they had turned back into wolf form. The four of us went back in the house and I went upstairs to check on Bella. I double checked her pulse and her breathing to make sure she was alright. I also did a quick check around her room to make sure there weren't any vampires besides us in there.

Just to be on the safe side, I carried her downstairs and laid her on the couch where we could all keep an eye on her.

"So why is Edward all emo again?" Emmett asked.

"Bella broke up with him," Rose said.

"Now I'm confused; I can sense that she still loves him. So why would she break up with him?" Jasper asked.

"Bella didn't want their relationship to only be defined on Edward's terms. That's also why she voted 'no'. She wants to feel like she's in control of some of her decisions," I answered him.

"So now what do we do?" Emmett asked.

"The best thing we can do is protect her," Rose said cozying up to Emmett. "Even if we can at least get Bella and Edward to a level of friendship, so she can trust being around him, we have to make her comfortable enough to want to join the family."

"Meaning you guys are going to have to talk to Edward," I instructed. "We're going to need him to understand where Bella is coming from and get him to understand why Bella needs to become a vampire."

"That's easier said than done," Emmett scoffed.

"Just try your best, babe," Rose said giving him a kiss on the cheek.

"We'd better head out before Edward gets suspicious. We'll see you girls at home tomorrow," Jasper said giving me a kiss on my forehead. The boys got up and left out the front door. We both looked at Bella's sleeping form on the couch.

"You really think we can pull this off?" Rose asked.

"I really hope so, Rose," I sighed. _I really hope so…_

 **So yeah, a little different than I promised like I said. However, all these conversations are going to impact Bella and Edward going forward. We're heading back to Forks High next chapter- how will the Cullens' return affect everyone? We shall see...**

 **Thank you for all for reading, reviewing, following, and favoriting! XOXO**


	13. Chapter 13

**A/N: Hey everybody, I hope you enjoy this slightly longer chapter. We finally got Bella back in school...let's see how that turns out shall we? Sorry for those who reviewed that it took me so long to get back to you; FFN was being a jerk :(**

 **Thank you to all the new followers and for reviewing! You guys make me happy :)**

 **I don't own _Twilight_ , and I'm a little sad about that...oh well!**

" _Love is irrational, I reminded myself. The more you loved someone, the less sense anything made."_ _  
_ _―_ _ **Stephenie Meyer**_ _,_ _ **New Moon**_

 **BPOV**

I woke up early the next morning alone in my room. Instead of calling for them, I got up and took a few "human moments" in the bathroom. Just as I got downstairs, Charlie was coming in the front door.

"Hey Dad," I greeted him. "Did you get any breaks in the disappearance cases?"

"I wish I could say we did, Bells," Charlie sighed. "It's almost like these kids just disappeared into thin air or something."

 _Definitely or something_ , I thought to myself. Rose and Alice both peeked from where they were 'sleeping' on the couch, figuring what I was: Victoria.

"Do you want something for breakfast?" I asked him.

"Please," he pleaded. "A man can only survive so many hours on just coffee and donuts." I looked on the counter and noticed a basket of muffins that Alice must have brought over last night while I was sleeping.

 _A little something to make your morning easier, Love Esme_ \- the note read. I went into the fridge and grabbed some eggs and fruit that also seemed to make its way in there courtesy of a little pixie. Charlie sat down at the table and rested his head in his hands while I made breakfast. After I scrambled the eggs and put some fruit and a muffin on Charlie's plate, I went to go turn on the coffee maker when he stopped me.

"Bells, I beg of you- no more caffeine. I do want to sleep eventually," Charlie mumbled. With a nod, I went back to the fridge and poured us some orange juice. I grabbed my plate and sat with him.

"Hey Dad, if you don't have to go in to work on Saturday, did you maybe want to do something?" I asked him.

"Something like what, Bells?" Charlie asked.

"Maybe we could head to Port Angeles and catch a movie?" I suggested.

"That sounds like a good idea," Charlie mused. He looked as if he were pondering something as he ate his breakfast. Once he finished, he turned his attention back to me.

"Bells, I've been thinking about your being grounded and it doesn't make any sense to me," Charlie started. I must have looked at him in confusion, because he continued on. "You're eighteen years old; punishing you doesn't make any sense because in the eyes of the law, you are an adult. However, you are still my only daughter and I panicked."

"I'm sorry, Dad," I apologized again. "I should have at least came to La Push and explained the situation, before I left the way I did."

"I would have appreciated that, but while you have a lot of your mother in you- there's a little bit of me in there too," my Dad told me. "The part that wants to do the right thing, no matter how much of a challenge it could be."

Charlie cleared his throat and continued on. "I'm lifting your punishment on these conditions: one, you are going to have a set curfew now; 10 on school nights and 11:30 on weekends," he stated. "We'll see how you do for the remainder of the month and maybe we can talk about extending the hours."

"Okay, that sounds fair," I agreed. "What's condition number two?"

"Condition two: before you go anywhere, please call me and let me know where you're going," Charlie looked at me with pleading eyes. The rebellious teen part of me wanted to protest this one, but considering my disappearing act as well as Victoria being out in the area, that one was easy to agree to.

"Deal, anything else?" I asked him.

"Condition three: if you decide that you and Edward are going to try to get back together, give your old man a proper warning. I may need to reintroduce him to my gun collection," Charlie said, whispering that last part more to himself. In the living room, the girls tried to cover up their laughs as yawns and coughs.

"I promise," I told my dad. The girls chose that time to 'wake up' and come into the kitchen.

"Morning, chief," they greeted him in unison.

"Good morning, ladies," Charlie greeted them in the middle of a yawn.

"Rough night?" Alice asked with concern; I know she probably saw just how bad it was for him.

"You could say that," Charlie sighed. "Did your mother send over muffins?"

"Yes, she thought maybe you guys could use a few things especially with everything you've been through. Bella told us about your friend's passing," Rose answered.

"Harry was a good man; shame what happened in the woods," Charlie said remorsefully. He shook his head and stood up from the table. "You girls help yourselves; and thank you for staying with Bella last night," Charlie said as he was making his way towards the stairs.

"It wasn't any trouble; we were glad to spend some time with Bella," Rose said with a sincere smile.

"Get some rest, chief," Alice piped up behind him. Charlie playfully saluted her and went upstairs.

"Seriously, thank you guys for coming over yesterday," I told the girls.

"I really meant it when I said we were glad to spend some time with you," Rose said nudging my shoulder.

"And since Charlie lifted your punishment, maybe we can spend more time with you," Alice said in a hopeful tone.

I winced; I still wanted to see the Cullens, but that would include having to see Edward. Rose must have picked up on that because she then suggested, "We can always do girls days in Port Angeles, Bella."

"Ooh, maybe we can even do a weekend in Tacoma or even Vancouver if Charlie's okay with it," Alice commented. "We're your friends; if you ask us not to push about him, we won't. We just don't want to miss out on any more time with you," she added with a concerned tone.

I was glad to still have their support, but I needed to face facts: Edward was always going to be a member of their family no matter if or how far he ran; possibly one day sooner rather than later, I was going to become a member of this family. Whether he agreed with it or not, I was going to be a Cullen. I was going to have to learn how to be comfortable in my own skin.

"That really means a lot to me that you guys want to protect me, but I have to learn how to be okay being me too," I told the girls.

"What do you mean?" Rose asked.

"I mean, all of you have your passions in the family and I still haven't found mine yet," I told her. "If and whenever I do become a vampire, I know I'll have decades, even centuries to find something I love; I just want to go into this life knowing who I am and what drives me," I continued.

Alice clapped giddily when she heard this. "I'm so happy you said that!" She exclaimed. "I know you wanted this life because you were following your heart, but now your mind is following along too."

"Why do I have the feeling that you had some sort of vision?" Rose hedged.

"That would be because I finally have a true decision from Bella about becoming one of us in every sense of the word again!" Alice chirped happily.

"Okay, calm down Alice," I said with a laugh. "Yes, I know that I will have to become a vampire eventually; however, I want it to be on my own terms."

"Sounds fair to me," Rose said.

"As long as I can still call you my sister, I don't care how long it takes," Alice said giving me a hug.

Emmett called Rose's phone at that time. After a few seconds, she hung up and rushed up the stairs. "Uh oh," Alice groaned.

"What's the matter?" I asked her.

"My visions went dark again," she sighed.

"The wolves think they found a trace of Victoria," Rose explained tossing Alice her clothes. "They need all hands on deck."

"You guys will be careful, right?" I asked concerned.

"We always are," Alice said fully dressed and with a smile.

"We'll call and let you know that we're okay," Rose reassured me. With that, the girls walked out the front door and pulled off in Rose's BMW. While my dad slept and I waited for one of the Cullens to call me, I cleaned up the house as quietly as I could. Around 5, my cell phone rang with an unknown number.

I was a little hesitant to pick it up, but it could have been Rose or even Jasper. "Hello?" I asked cautiously.

"Hey darlin', it's Jasper." I heard the familiar southern twang and instantly relaxed.

"Hi Jasper, is everything okay?" I asked him.

"Unfortunately, we lost her again. She went on to Quileute lands and we could only go so far; the wolves lost her because she dived off a cliff," Jasper explained with a slight growl to his voice.

"But all of you are okay?" I asked.

"Besides being pissed that we couldn't catch her AGAIN, yeah we're alright," Jasper sighed. "We'll probably be taking turns watching over you and Charlie until we find her," he continued.

"Jasper, I…" I started to protest, but he cut me off.

"Bella, we messed up; we should have convinced Edward to stay and we could have avoided a lot of issues, including the Volturi finding out about you," Jasper said. "Now we made a promise that we were going to protect you and we're going to keep it this time."

"Thank you," I sighed. "I'll see you and Alice at school tomorrow?"

"That you will, darlin'," Jasper assured me. "Talk to you later."

"Bye, Jasper," I ended the call. I went upstairs to go check on my dad, who was still peacefully sawing logs in his room. After a few more hours, I got ready for bed. Before I went to sleep, I checked my window and sure enough, Emmett and Rose were standing in the forest by my house just visible enough for my human eyes to see. I waved to let them know I saw they were there and climbed in bed when they acknowledged my wave with their own.

The next morning, I got ready for school as usual; however today I had a new mantra: _you will be stronger than before_. I came downstairs and Charlie sat at the table, uniform on with a cup of coffee and the newspaper in hand.

"Morning," I greeted him grabbing one of Esme's muffins.

"Morning, Bells," He answered.

"How long do you have to work today?" I asked him. "I should be done around 3, but I'm gonna stop in La Push for a couple hours to check on the Clearwaters. Sue will probably be pushing me out with enough food for a few days myself, so you won't have to worry about dinner," Charlie said.

I nodded to let him know I understood; I had just taken a big bite out of the muffin I grabbed. Charlie finished his coffee and gave me a kiss on the temple.

"I'll see you after work," he said walking towards the front door.

"Be careful!" I called after him.

"Always am!" he called back.

I left a few minutes after Charlie, trying my best to look around and make sure the coast was clear; not that it would help against a vampire who had a gift of evasion. I made to school without any incident and noticed Emmett's Jeep was in the parking lot instead of the silver Volvo I was expecting. Alice and Jasper jumped out of the truck and walked towards me.

"He's not coming today?" I asked in equal parts surprise and relief.

"We told him give you at least another day," Jasper answered in a concerned tone.

"How bad is it going to be for you guys?" I asked Alice.

"It won't get too bad until Edward actually comes back," Alice told me. "By this time next week, no one will even care." The three of us walked into the school waiting for the onslaught of gossip. Jasper managed to help Alice and I stay calm even with all the whispers. Once Alice and Jasper got their schedules back on track, they dropped me off at my first class of the day.

"We'll see you later," Alice said giving me a pat on the arm. I nodded, not trusting my voice. I took a deep breath, walked into class and took a seat. The day was for the most part uneventful, minus the couple stares I got but I knew those would fade just like they did the first day I came here and the first couple days Edward and I had started dating.

During my free period, I went to the new counselor's office. I knocked on the door and the woman who answered it did not look how I expected; she was tall like a model with an olive complexion and dark hair. "Can I help you?" she asked me with a bit of an accent.

"Are you the new counselor?" I asked her.

"Gisele Prince, it's nice to meet you," she said with a smile.

"It's nice to meet you too, I'm Bella Swan," I responded and introduced myself.

"So, what brings you to my office?" Gisele asked.

"I was wondering if you could help me with something," I said to her. "My boyfriend, ex-boyfriend…" I sighed. "It's complicated. We had very different ideas about our relationship and have very different ideas about the future," I continued on. "And there's so much going through my head…"

"So you want an outside point of view to help clear it," she finished.

"Exactly," I responded with a nod. "I was wondering if I could come in around this time on Mondays and Thursdays; those are the free periods on my schedule for the rest of the semester."

"You should be all clear; most students think venting isn't the 'cool' thing to do," Gisele said with a roll of her eyes. "I have a strong feeling I'll have an influx nearing graduation."

"I do have one question though," I asked hesitantly.

"If it's 'does the whole what is said in the office, stays in the office' thing is true, yes Bella I promise 100% confidentiality unless it is something that can harm yourself or anyone around you," Gisele told me.

"That said, there's still twenty-five minutes of your free period left," she added. "Did you want to start today or on Thursday?" I figured it would be better to treat this like getting used to a cold pool- jumping right in.

"We can start today," I answered, but my face must have looked tense because it caused Gisele to respond with a laugh and say "Don't worry, we won't go into all the deep secrets today. I'd just like to get to know you."

I relaxed and nodded my agreement. So for the next twenty minutes she asked about me: how long had I lived in Forks, where did I live before that, simple things about my parents. Normally, I would feel a bit strange being emotionally vulnerable to a stranger, but she had a calming presence sort of like Jasper.

Before I knew it, our time was up and it was time for my next class. With a promise to see me Thursday, Gisele let me out of her office. I stopped to get a drink of water before class and heard Jessica venting to Angela.

"Please, you know now that _they're_ back, she's just going to run off to them again," Jessica said.

"You don't know that for sure, Jess; I really don't like the fact that you're trying to drag me into this," Angela responded in my defense.

"I don't like that's she's dragging you into anything either, Ang," I said making my presence known.

"Bella, hey," Jess tried to greet me in a falsely sweet tone.

"Look, Jess, I know I've been a flake the past few months; I am sorry for that, but you also don't have to be such a bitch about it," I said to her. "It was more than just Edward leaving, his whole family left and I had got close to all of them; if I decide to be close with them, that's my business." I continued.

"Bella, I…" Jess started with a nervous laugh but I cut her off.

"Like I said, Jessica I am sorry for flaking. I'll see you guys around," I concluded and walked off to class. The next two periods went about the same as earlier in the day and I went to the cafeteria for lunch. Alice and Jasper were already at their usual table and I was about to grab my lunch when Jessica stopped me.

"Bella, can I talk to you for a second?" she asked in a surprisingly sincere tone.

"What is it?" I asked warily.

"I wanted to say I'm sorry," she said with a sigh. "I'll be honest a part of my was happy when Edward left because it showed that maybe you weren't all that special to him; but seeing how badly it messed you up when they all left it did make me regret feeling that way."

"I know you were trying to still act like everything was okay when you started asking us to hang out again, but I should have noticed you weren't; you weren't the flake, Bella, I was," she continued. "I should have been more understanding about the fact that you were really hurt and I'm sorry for being such a bitch before," she concluded.

Alice must have been walking up while we had our conversation because she cleared her throat to let us know she was near.

"Hey Bella," she greeted me. "Jessica, Angela, would you like to sit with us?" she asked sweetly.

"Sure," Angela responded graciously.

"O-okay," Jessica stuttered in shock. Alice and I went to sit at the table with Jasper while the girls grabbed their lunches.

"She was actually sincere with that apology darlin'," Jasper informed me when we sat down.

"Good, with everything going on with Victoria and the Volturi, I don't think I can handle more drama for the year," I sighed.

"I saw what happened in the hall; I'm really proud of you for standing up for yourself," Alice said. I just smiled in response because Jessica, Angela, and Eric came over to the table.

"Welcome back, guys," Eric greeted them as if they were only on vacation for a few weeks instead of gone for seven months. I was really glad Angela had someone like him.

"Thanks, man," Jasper said managing a smile.

"So, how have you guys been?" Alice asked.

"Eh same old, same old," Jessica replied. "It's Forks; there's nothing to exciting going on."

 _Oh if she only knew_ , I thought to myself.

"Tell that to the jocks," Angela sighed. "Spring sports are starting back up so half of the yearbook staff is gone." Eric reached to give Ang a hug.

"Don't worry, babe; we'll figure something out," he tried to reassure her.

"How much more do you need done?" Jasper asked.

"We still have other events for spring to go: sporting events, concerts, prom…" Angela started to list off.

"Yeah, we may not have to worry about prom," Jessica scoffed. "Half the committee is gone for the same reasons, but we barely got anything done."

"Not even a theme?" Alice asked.

"They suggested that we do the same thing as last year," Jess said in a monotone voice.

"That might not be a bad idea," I silently mused. Jessica and Alice both looked at me as if I suggest either wear the same outfit twice.

"I don't mean do the _exact_ same thing, but maybe do something similar like a more romantic French Riviera theme," I continued.

"That could work," Jess mulled to herself.

"Sure: romantic lighting, vintage pieces spread out as decorations, the right foliage…" Alice started formulating. "I'm sure Esme has most of what we would need."

"Your stepmom has all that stuff?" Jess asked in a surprised tone.

"She's obsessed with design and she loves collecting," Alice said. "I'm sure as long as we're careful, she wouldn't mind loaning it to us for the night."

"And we could have it under a tent," I suggested. "That way, we have a different atmosphere than the gym."

"Plus it's perfect for rain or shine!" Jess said excitedly. "That's a great idea you guys!"

"I can talk to my dad about any permits we may need," I volunteered.

"Esme loves throwing a good party; she may know a catering company and somewhere we can rent the tent and dance floor from," Alice added.

"Now what else did you need for the yearbook?" Jasper added.

"Sponsors, help with the layout; that sort of thing," Eric said.

"Carlisle may have some connections at the hospital when it comes to sponsors," Jasper said. "As for layout, I can help with that."

"Really?" Ang asked excitedly.

"Yeah, it's sort of a hobby of mine," Jasper answered.

"Anything else you need help with, I wouldn't mind," I added. "I'm a pretty fast learner."

So for the rest of lunch we talked about how to fix the rest of the yearbook because half the committee sounded like they joined just to be part of it and the others were so excited, no one noticed that Alice or Jasper hadn't touched their food.

By the time the end of the day came, I felt better than I had in a few months. "So, if it's okay with your dad, maybe we can come over sometime this week to try and map out a decorating plan for prom?" Jess asked.

"Yeah, I'll see after he gets home from work," I said as I reached my truck. Out the corner of my eye, I could have sworn I saw Edward's Volvo sitting by the edge of the parking lot. I shrugged it off and got into my truck. When I went to turn the ignition, the car didn't make any noise at all. I tried again and the same thing happened.

"Everything okay, Bella?" Jasper asked as he and Alice walked towards Emmett's Jeep.

"My truck won't start," I said sadly. I got out and looked at my friends, not wanting to inconvenience anyone, when I noticed Jasper let out a growl only Alice and I could here; Edward must have done something to my truck so that I'd be forced to ride with him, but Alice said, "Don't worry, Bella. Your ride is on his way."

Jasper and I must have looked at her in confusion, but then I heard the familiar rumble of Jake's Rabbit.

"Hey Bells, Charlie called and said you were having truck problems and asked me to pick you up," Jake said after sticking his head out the window.

"He's absolutely right," I said playing along.

 _Thank you_ , I mouthed to Alice, who responded with a wink.

"Is everything okay, Bella?" Jess asked me in a breathy tone.

"Yeah, my friend Jake is going to take me home," I said. "Are you okay, Jess?"

"I'm fine," she responded in the same tone.

"I'm ready when you are, Bells," Jake said in a distracted tone. I looked and noticed that Jessica and Jake had a similar look on their faces. Oh my God…

"I'll see you guys later," I called out to everyone. Ang pulled Jessica away as Alice gently led Jasper to the Jeep.

As we drove by Edward walking towards his siblings, I hit Jake on the arm lightly. "Did you just imprint on my friend?" I asked.

 **So yeah, Stakerward is back...He'll be getting an attitude adjustment next chapter and I can't wait! Well, I sorta will because I plan to binge on Netflix...but next chapter should be up around this time next week (I hope). Enjoy your weekends and see ya soon!**

 **xoxo**


	14. Chapter 14

**A/N: OMG, did I actually get a new chapter to you guys before the weekend?! Yay :) This chapter took a lot and I wanted to do my best to make things clear on how these crazy kids will move on for the rest of the story. If you're still a little confused at the end of the chapter, feel free to PM me :D**

 **I don't own _Twilight_ , Netflix, or anything to do with Marvel Studios...anyone make a functioning time machine yet?**

" _The bond forged between us was not one that could be broken by absence, distance, or time. And no matter how much more special or beautiful or brilliant or perfect than me he might be, he was as irreversibly altered as I was. As I would always belong to him, so would he always be mine."_ _  
_ _―_ _ **Stephenie Meyer**_ _,_ _ **New Moon**_

 **EPOV**

I don't even think Alice had been fully parked in the driveway for 10 seconds before Emmett grabbed me and slammed me into a tree. "What the hell do you think you're doin', man!" he yelled at me. Rosalie came out the house in her coveralls; she glared at me before turning to Alice.

"Is Bella alright?" she asked. "Was she able to get home?"

"Bella's fine, I had a vision of Dumbward over here messing with her truck and called Jake," Alice said.

"I can't believe you would all do this to me!" I yelled at my family. "I'm your brother!"

"Then start acting like him again!" Jasper yelled at me. I have to admit, this behavior wasn't normal for me whatsoever. What was going on with me?

 _ **10 Hours Earlier…**_

I finally came home after sitting by myself in the meadow for two days. This was a sacred place for Bella and I; the one place I could truly be myself around her. Instead of the beautiful flowers that blossomed here, I was met with thistles and weeds; it seemed like the perfect metaphor for how our relationship had turned out, what I had turned it into.

I hurt her and now she wanted nothing to do with me. She would move on to Jacob Black and he could give her a life that I never could. He could touch her without breaking her, kiss her without restraint. He could make love as passionately as he wanted to and they could have children. That was the thought that hurt me worse than any amount of venom could.

 _I wondered how long it could last. Maybe someday, years from now; if the pain would decrease to the point where I could bear it, I would be able to look back on those few short months that would always be the best of my life._

I walked into the living room where Alice and Jasper sat on opposite ends of the couch, reading a fashion magazine and a historical biography respectively. I noticed I couldn't hear any of the other couples roaming around the house.

"Where's everyone else?" I asked my siblings.

"Carlisle and Esme went out for a hunt," Jasper answered without looking up.

"I think Emmett and Rose went by Lake Crescent; they wanted some 'proper alone time' as Em put it," Alice answered without turning her head towards me.

"Where have you been, brother?" Jasper asked.

"Out in the woods thinking," I answered. "Have either of you heard from Bella?"

"Charlie asked Rose and me to stay with her yesterday," Alice said as if she were just commenting that she bought a new pair of shoes.

"Does he know what I did?" I questioned.

"What, that you abandoned his daughter for seven months?" Alice asked in a bored tone.

"You know what I mean, Alice," I replied in an exasperated tone.

"No, Charlie does not know that you went all stakerish, came into his house without permission, and grabbed Bella's wrist," Alice sighed. "I may be pissed off at you, but Charlie has enough on his plate without worrying about you too."

"Why? What else is going on?" I asked.

"Two Forks locals have gone missing in the past few months: Riley Biers around the time we left, and Cassandra Reynolds a few days ago," Jasper responded. "Both of them are college students in Seattle."

"Victoria?" I growled.

"It's possible; she's somehow catching blind spots in my visions and I can't see what she's doing," Alice said pinching the bridge of her nose.

"For the sake of protecting Bella, if you see anything…" I started.

"I'll let you know," Alice finally face me with a solemn look on her face. I nodded and went up to my room. I showered, changed clothes, and laid on the black couch in my room. I took a glance in the corner where the bed that I had bought for whenever Bella would come over still sat un-assembled.

I started to think what would have happened had I not have overreacted: what if I hadn't pushed Bella, but pulled her behind me? What if I just trusted Emmett and Carlisle to just get Jasper out the house? She just had a little paper cut; I could have just cleaned up the scratch, gave her a Band-Aid, and we could have just continued on as if nothing happened.

Victoria and Laurent wouldn't have gotten anywhere near her, Jacob Black would have just been in the wings-watching and always wishing for what he couldn't have. We could have continued on and I wouldn't have put her in the Volturi's cross-hairs. She could have lived out her life with me and I'd find some way to follow after her.

 _Why couldn't we still have a life together?_ I thought to myself. _All I need is for Bella to forgive me and we can just put this in the past._ With that resolve in mind, I spent the rest of the night putting the bed together at a human pace.

 _ **6 Hours Earlier…**_

By the time I had finished, the other two couples had come in. I let them get to their rooms without getting into their ways and went downstairs. The piano was the last thing in the house that hadn't been uncovered and I was going to change that.

Once the dust cover had been removed and it was properly tuned, I sat down for the first time in months and played. I started out with simple nursery rhymes just to get back into playing for so long, then I transitioned into the lullaby I had written for Esme; finally I transitioned into the lullaby I had written for my love.

"I think this is actually my first time hearing that," Rose commented from the doorway. "When did you write that one?"

"I started writing it shortly after Bella and I had made things official," I said.

"It's really beautiful," she remarked.

"So is the inspiration behind it," I said.

"It's quiet," I noted.

"Emmett went with Esme to pick something up from Tacoma, Carlisle went to the hospital, and aliceandjasperwentbacktoschool," she rushed at the end.

"Could you repeat that, sister dear?" I probed. "I don't think I caught that."

Rosalie huffed and repeated the ending of her sentence. "Alice and Jasper went back to school today," she informed me.

"Why wouldn't they tell me?" I asked, starting to feel my temper rise.

"Maybe so Bella could have a day of peace and not be grilled about you?" Rose countered. "She did break up with you after all."

"Because I won't damn her to this 'life'," I responded.

"Because you shattered her heart, Edward," Rose retorted.

"You agreed with me that she shouldn't be changed," I told her.

"I was saying that based on my own feelings," Rose told me. "Actually, I told her that I was changing my vote to 'yes'."

"WHY THE HELL WOULD YOU DO THAT!" I roared at my sister.

"BECAUSE I DON'T WANT TO SEE HER KILLED, EDWARD!" Rose roared back at me. "What, were you just planning on running with her for the rest of her natural life?"

I ducked my head down. "You idiot!" she sneered at me. "Aro is the one that can read thoughts just by touching you right?"

"Yes," I told her.

"So don't you think he would advise the guard to keep their thoughts as quiet as they could?" she analyzed. "If he knows about Alice too, he would tell them to try and make every decision as last minute as they possibly could."

I hate to admit, I didn't think about that. "But she still can't become a vampire; I can't condemn her soul, Rosalie, I won't," I told my sister.

"Then you are truly the most selfish bastard I've ever met," Rosalie said to me. "And I feel sorry for you." With that she turned on her heel and went upstairs.

 _ **3 Hours Earlier…**_

I didn't want to be in the house with her, so I left as quietly as I could. I ran to the school and watched Bella through the cafeteria window; sure enough, my siblings were there and she sat with them eating her lunch. She looked bright and cheerful, a way I hadn't seen her in since the summer before her birthday.

She spoke with her friends animatedly, a little bit of Alice had rubbed off on her it seemed; speaking of my clairvoyant sister, she may have looked fully engrossed in the conversation, but she directed her line of thinking towards me. _Edward Anthony Masen Cullen, if you do what I see you're about to do, I will take drastic measures_ , she threatened.

I ignored my sister and went to Bella's ancient truck. I was worried that with the creaking of her hood, it would give me away, but thankfully I didn't hear anyone approaching. With that in mind, I pulled apart some of the wiring in her truck as well as loosening some of the bolts. I put the hood back down and ran home, intent on picking Bella up a couple hours later.

 _ **A Half-Hour Earlier…**_

I sat in my room and waited for the time to pass until I could pick up Bella. At 1:45, enough time had lapsed that I could try and convince Bella to let me give her a ride home. With that, I grabbed my keys and went downstairs.

"Where are you heading, sweetheart?" Esme asked as she looked up from her gardening magazine.

"I'm going to pick Bella up from school," I told her.

"Does she know you're coming?" She hedged nervously.

"It's a surprise," I told her. Before we could get into an argument, I ran out to the garage and started my Volvo up. I heard Emmett calling after me and I saw Rose stop him from chasing me down. I got to the school in plenty of time and sat on the street where I wouldn't block any of the other students from getting out.

I watched as my angel walked out with her friends and my siblings.

 _Edward, you have got to be fucking kiddin' me_ , Jasper thought as he gave Bella a slight hug to make sure she was alright. I couldn't find it in me to care what my siblings thought in that moment, I was trying to get the girl I loved back.

 _I know he wants to get her back, but dismantling her truck? That's really pushing it_ , a slightly unfamiliar tenor came into my brain. As I got out of my car, I noticed a pathetic little red Rabbit pulling into the parking lot. _Wait, Jacob Black drove a Rabbit_ …

 _I warned you, big brother_ , Alice thought condescendingly. I had to watch the whole exchange and then Bella got in the car with him. As he was pulling off, I stalked over to my siblings.

"Alice…" I growled at my sister.

"Yeah, you don't get to talk," Alice said in an eerily calm tone. "I suggest you get your ass back into your Volvo and follow us home, now," she concluded in that same tone.

All the years she and Jasper had been part of our family, I had never heard her talk to me that way. I just followed my sister's instructions.

 _ **Back to Present**_ **…**

"What in the world is going on?" Esme asked from the house.

"Edward's in need of an intervention and we didn't want to break the house," Emmett called back.

"I want ALL of you back here in one piece, understand?" Esme said.

"Yes ma'am," we replied. Emmett then proceeded to drag me deeper into the forest away from the house.

"Seriously, what the hell is going on with you?" Emmett asked rubbing his face in his hands.

"I'm trying to get Bella back," I told my family.

"By breaking her car to force her to ride with you?" Rose deadpanned. "Yeah, that was a brilliant idea."

"It's not as if any of you are trying to help me see her," I accused my family.

"Because you're starting to get reckless Edward," Alice responded. "Seriously: just going into Charlie's house uninvited, grabbing Bella's arm, and now breaking her truck?"

"I'm trying to make sure she doesn't leave," I tried to use as my final argument.

"Well, I'd be runnin' for the damn hills the way you're actin'," Jasper said. "Edward, answer me this: do you know what Bella wanted to be when she grew up?'

"What does this have to do with anything?" I asked, getting frustrated.

"No, I see where you're going with this, Jazz," Emmett said coming to some sort of realization. "What's something on her bucket list?" he added to Jasper's line of questioning.

"Have you ever asked why she's vegetarian?" Rose jumped in to the questioning.

"How many dates not involving our family have you ever taken her on?" Alice included.

Staring at my siblings, I then realized I didn't have an answer to some of these. "We came to the meadow shortly after she realized that I was a vampire," I answered Alice.

"Okay, anything else?" Alice questioned.

"And don't say Port Angeles, because that one counts more like a rescue mission more than a date," Rose interrupted. I sat on a rock and let what my siblings asked sink in; I didn't know if Bella had a bucket list, much less knew what was on it. When I asked her what she saw herself doing in the future, she never gave me a truly definitive answer. I don't think I ever really paid attention to the fact that she didn't eat meat.

"You're right," I came to the realization. "I don't really know anything about Bella."

"So are you sure it's not the fact that she's _La Tua Cantante_ that you were attracted to her?" Alice asked.

"Wait, what does that mean?" Emmett asked.

" _La Tua Cantante_ is the name for the person whose blood is like a siren song to a vampire; your desire for this person's blood would outweigh anything in the world," Jasper informed him.

"So is Alice right; do you believe Bella's your mate only because of the way she smells?" Rose asked me.

"I honestly don't know," I admitted to my family. "All I know is Bella interested me in a way I haven't felt in almost a century."

"So, it's not Bella you fell in love with; it's the idea of her that you came up with in your head," Rose alleged. "The thing is Edward, you have to stop treating her as if she's some earthbound angel or something beyond sacred. She's a girl who loves you, that's all she needed to be," she concluded.

"You have to earn her trust back, Edward," Alice began. "That means giving her any space she may need to figure out her feelings for you; when she's ready, learn how to be her friend first and then try to become something more."

"Most importantly, you can't just go all caveman on her and try to mark your territory anytime another male is around her," Jasper said. "She's not like the girls any of us saw in the times we were born; women want to be seen as equal partners, not just the pretty damsel waiting for a man to be her knight in shining armor."

"We're sorry we've been harsh, but we love you and don't want you to do something stupid," Emmett articulated, trying to bring everyone's thoughts together. "But, we've come to care about Bella in our own special ways too and we don't want her to suffer anymore because of any bad decisions."

I nodded to let Emmett know that I heard him; I owed the entire family a true apology. I stood up and looked each sibling in the eye.

"Rosalie, I'm sorry for not understanding how much all of this change would affect you," I started. "I'm also sorry for the times that I snapped at you. You've been a rock for this family and we'd fall apart without you. Thank you for always trying to protect us, even if I didn't always agree," I concluded.

"Jasper, I'm sorry for putting the blame on you for what happened during Bella's birthday party," I told my brother. "I should have just listened to her and did what she wanted. Instead I overreacted to a papercut and made you out to be the bad guy. For that, I'm truly sorry," I ended and saw his nod and smile knowing he forgave me.

"Emmett, I'm sorry for breaking the family apart and taking you away from your new little sister," I told my older brother.

 _I forgive ya, nerd_ , he thought to me.

I then looked to Alice. "Do I really have to say yours out loud too?" I asked her.

"Just because I saw your apology doesn't mean I don't want to hear it," Alice said with a smirk.

"Alice, I'm sorry for pulling you away from your best friend and for separating myself from the family; I promise to do my best to make sure neither of those things happen again," I spoke to my sister.

"Apology accepted," Alice said with a smile and a hug. Rose was still quiet, even though I had said my peace.

"Rose?" I asked.

"While I do thank you for realizing what a valuable part of the family I actually am, I can't fully accept your apology," she began. "Not until you tell me a valid reason that you wouldn't want Bella changed."

"Because I shouldn't want it as badly as I do," I finally admitted. "With the exception of Emmett, the rest of us didn't really have family waiting for us; I don't want to take Bella away from her family like that."

"We're not saying that she needs to be changed right away, Edward," Rosalie sighed. "But Alice has seen it happen, you just have to accept it. We all agree that she should be changed, but the only vote that mattered to her was yours," she concluded.

"She will talk to you tomorrow, but you still need to take another day from school," Alice told me.

"So how am I going to see her tomorrow?" I asked.

"She'll meet you in the clearing where she told you that she knew you are a vampire," Alice confirmed. "You just have to actually exercise some patience."

 _Well, we've spent this much time apart_ …

 **BPOV**

Jake pulled up to my house, still avoiding my question. We got out of the car and walked up to my front door. I stood in the pathway of my door and refused to unlock it. "Seriously, Bella, are you eight years old?" Jake asked me with raised eyebrows.

"I just want a simple answer to my question: do you or do you not think you may have imprinted on Jessica?" I asked with an arched brow.

"Maybe; now can we please go inside?" Jake responded with a laugh.

"Oh, like you're freezing," I teased.

We sat down in the living room and I pulled out my cell phone to call Charlie. Lucky for me he was at his desk.

"Forks Police Department, Chief Swan speaking," Charlie answered the phone.

"Hey, chief," I responded.

"Hi Bells," Charlie said. "I wasn't expecting to hear from you for a while. Everything okay?"

"Yeah, I was just calling to let you know I was home; however, you may not see my truck," I told him.

"Where's your truck, Bella?" he asked me in his 'don't mess with my authority' voice.

"In the Forks High School parking lot," I confessed. "It just died on me this afternoon. Luckily, Jake happened to be in the neighborhood and drove me home."

"Well, tell him thanks for me," Charlie responded. "How are you going to get back and forth, though?"

At that point, Jake motioned for me to pass him the phone. "Hang on, dad; Jake wants to talk to you," I told him before I put the phone in Jake's waiting hand.

"Hey Charlie," Jake greeted him. "We're okay; Bella was telling me on the way back that her truck was giving her a couple issues this morning on the way to school. It must have died on her before she got out of class," He continued the smooth lie to my dad. "We might go back a little later to see what the problem is; it is an older truck so, we'll see how it goes," he concluded. "Sure, sure we'll be okay, Charlie," Jake promised my dad.

"Here's Bella," Jake told him as he passed the phone back to me.

"Dad?" I asked.

"Yeah, still here," he responded. "I'll be heading out in a few and headed down to La Push; sure you'll be alright for a little while?"

"I'll be okay, I have Jake to keep me company and Alice and Rose will come over if I ask too," I reassured him.

"Alright, stay safe kid," Charlie said as he prepared to end the call.

"You too," I told him.

"Always am; talk to you later," Charlie said.

"Bye dad," I said ending the call.

"He lucked out that the truck is old as dirt or something would really be up," Jake said.

"You don't really think Edward broke my truck on purpose," I responded incredulously. "Do you?" I asked unsure.

"Sorry to tell you, Bells, but he did," Jake admitted to me. "Alice had a vision of him doing it and then she called me."

"Un-freakin'-believable," I said burying my head in my hands.

"So what are you gonna do?" Jake asked.

"I just need to put my big girl pants on and have a talk with him," I sighed.

"Whatever you decide, Bella, you know I'm here for you right?" Jake asked me.

"I know and thank you for being such a good friend," I said as I moved over to give him a hug.

"And speaking of friends…yeah, I might have imprinted on your friend, Jessica," he sheepishly admitted.

I jumped off the couch like a five year old or worse, like Alice. "I knew it, I knew it, I knew it!" I cheered and jumped around in a circle.

"Okay, you were right," Jake laughed. "Now stop acting so spastic so we can go look at your truck."

I calmed down and followed him outside. After locking the door and noticing Jake still looked at ease, we got in his car and went back to the school.

We noticed when we got there, Rose's BMW was sitting next to my truck.

"What are you two doing here?" I questioned Alice and Rose.

"I had to see how much damage my brother did to this truck," Rose answered from under the hood.

"You know your way around an engine, Blondie?" Jake asked skeptically.

"Please, mutt- I've been working on car engines since before your grandfather was probably born," Rose quipped. Jake nodded his head, clearly impressed and asked if she needed another set of eyes.

So while Jake and Rose poked around my engine, Alice and I sat in Rose's car.

"He asked me to tell you that he's sorry," Alice sighed. I just nodded my head.

"You're not going to say anything?" Alice asked.

"I've just been hearing him use that word so much lately, I need to hear from him the actual reasons that he's sorry," I told her.

"I had a vision of you two talking tomorrow," she admitted. "He's going to meet you in the clearing where you admitted that you knew what we are."

"He's just going to lurk around the school until I talk to him, isn't he?" I asked Alice.

"Yep, but I told him that he needs to exercise some patience," Alice responded.

"We all talked to him and I think we may have gotten through to him," she continued in a hopeful voice.

"You're sure about that?" I asked. "This is Edward we're talking about; the same person who let his own stubbornness keep us apart for seven months."

"You're right," Alice admitted. "But, this is the first you've mentioned that without yelling or crying," she added with a smile.

"I'm just trying my best to try and put this in the past, Alice," I told her. "We have bigger things to worry about."

She nodded and we turned to see Jake looking frustrated. We got out the car and walked over to my truck.

"So do you want the good news or the bad news?" Jake asked.

"Good news," I responded.

"Well, the good news everything can be fixed," Rose said trying to put an optimistic spin on the situation.

"The bad news?" I asked.

"It's gonna cost over $2000," Jake grumbled. "It's an old truck and these pieces take forever to come in."

"Well, this sucks," I mumbled.

"Hey, between us and Jake, you'll have a ride to and from school," Alice said trying to be positive.

"Yeah, but I still have to get to work," I told her.

"Don't worry, we'll figure something out," Rose tried to reassure me. A tow truck appeared right after that and took my truck to the junkyard. Jake went back to La Push after giving me a hug and promising to check on me later. Rose drove me home and she and Alice stayed there with me until Charlie came home seeing me sprawled on the living room floor from laughter as Rose told a story about something Emmett did on one of their family trips.

"Seems like I missed something," Charlie said as he closed the door behind him.

"Hi dad," I managed to breath out between laughs.

"Hi chief," the girls greeted him with smiles. "Hello ladies, to what do I owe the pleasure?" Charlie greeted them as he sat in his chair.

"Bella told me about her truck breaking down and I thought Jake could use a hand," Rose said after she collected herself.

"You know how to fix cars," Charlie said with an impressed tone.

"It's a hobby of mine," Rose shrugged off modestly.

"So what's the damage?" Charlie asked.

"It's something with my starter that would cost $2000," I told Charlie because saying 'my vampire ex-boyfriend broke my truck in order to force me to talk to him' seemed like the wrong thing.

"Sorry sweetheart, I know how much you loved your truck," Charlie said trying to comfort me.

"It's okay, dad; I'll figure something out," I told him. At that point, Alice's vision glazed over.

"Alice, hun, are you okay?" Charlie asked. She snapped out of it in just enough time.

"Sorry, chief, I must have been daydreaming," she responded.

The girls stayed a few minutes longer and then left under the guise that they still had to unpack some things back at home. Charlie and I sat down at the table and talked about his day while we ate some of the casserole that Sue Clearwater sent home with him. We sat in the living room while the game was on and he asked me about my day minus the truck breaking down on me. I let him know that I had joined the yearbook committee and that may keep me a couple days after school during the week; with that came the promise that between that and working at Newton's Outfitters, I wouldn't let my grades slip.

During the game, I asked him why he loved baseball so much and he told me about the first game my grandfather ever took him to. He told me how much he played as a kid and that was actually how he met Mom. I finished my homework, gave my father a kiss on the cheek, and went upstairs to get ready for bed. Tonight, when I looked out my window, I saw Alice with one of the wolves this time.

She waved to let me know she was there and from where I could see her, it looked like she mouthed the name "Seth" to let me know which of the wolves were with her. I fell into a dreamless sleep, but before I did, I tried push away the thought that the conversation between Edward and I would make things worse than they were already.

When I woke up the next morning, I saw a text from Alice saying she saw me speaking to Edward before school started, so she and Jasper would be picking me up a little earlier. I took care of my business in the bathroom, got dressed, and went downstairs.

"You're up early, Dad," I said as I made my way into the kitchen. "I thought you were off today."

"Well good morning to you too," he quipped. "I am off, but I thought you might need a ride to school today."

"Sorry, Dad; Alice and Jasper said they would pick me up. I guess I forgot to tell you," I said grabbing the last of the muffins Esme made for us.

"Eh, I can't sleep too late anyway," Charlie sighed. "Side effect of the job."

While I was eating my muffin, there was a knock at the front door. "Now who's that this early in the morning?" Charlie asked.

"I think it might be Jasper or Alice," I said swallowing the last bite of my muffin. Sure enough, Jasper was standing in my living room.

"Good morning, Chief Swan. My name is Jasper; I'm a friend of Bella's," he introduced himself to my father.

"It's a pleasure to meet you, son," my dad said shaking Jasper's hand. "So what brings you by so early?"

"We wanted to stop and get gas on our way to school," Jasper said.

"Alright then; you kids be safe," Charlie said.

Jasper and I said our goodbyes to Charlie and walked out my front door. Today, Alice was driving Rose's BMW. After I got myself settled in, Alice pulled off and we got to Forks High in record time.

"Are you sure you can handle this?" Alice asked me one more time as I looked into the woods near the school.

"It's now or never," I sighed.

"We're right here if you need us," Jasper reassured me. I nodded, squared my shoulders and tried my best to keep my emotions in check.

 **EPOV**

I heard my siblings pull into the parking lot around 7:25 AM. There was idle conversation going among them, but the only voice I could focus on was Bella's. I then heard Alice and Jasper reassure her that everything would be fine as she spoke to me. Part of me wanted to be upset with them because it seemed like they were prepping Bella to go against a recently freed animal.

Then I had to remember: I couldn't reason why anyone did anything anymore; my own selfishness caused this for everyone. All I could hope is that Bella could find it in her heart to forgive me. I took a deep breath that I didn't really need, opened my eyes, and Bella was standing a few feet in front of me.

"Bella," I smiled.

"Edward," she sighed.

It was awkwardly silent between us for a good two minutes. It almost reminded me of when we first met, except I knew what it was like to kiss her, to love her, to call her mine.

"Please say something," I pleaded.

"I'm trying to figure out what to say," she said in a quiet voice. I decided to wait until she made the first move.

"You hurt me, Edward," she said after taking a breath to calm herself.

"You lied to me in hopes that I would chose some other way to live; with that, you played on my deepest insecurity- that I wasn't good enough to be with you," she continued.

"Bella, I…" I began, but she stopped me.

"Please, just let me get this out," she said with a shaky voice. Bella took another deep breath presumably to keep herself from crying or yelling at me.

"Why was it so hard for you to believe that I loved you the same way you loved me?" Bella questioned me.

"How could you have just decided it was that easy to leave me?" she continued her line of questioning. "You know that the Volturi won't just come after me, they'll go after my parents and Phil; they'll hurt all of you or worse. How could you vote no to changing me?" her voice broke.

All I wanted was to rush and grab her in my arms to comfort her and promise that everything would be okay, but I couldn't do that; not without her permission.

"Bella," I started again. "I was so wrong for what I did. No amount of time will seem to pass that I won't regret how badly I hurt you. From the bottom of my heart, I am so sorry for what I've done to you."

" _Before you, Bella, my life was like a moonless night. Very dark, but there were stars, points of light and reason. ...And then you shot across my sky like a meteor. Suddenly everything was on fire; there was brilliancy, there was beauty. When you were gone, when the meteor had fallen over the horizon, everything went black. Nothing had changed, but my eyes were blinded by the light. I couldn't see the stars anymore. And there was no more reason, for anything."_ I admitted to her.

"Then how could you leave so easily?" She asked again.

"Bella, lying to you and leaving you was the hardest thing I have ever had to do in 107 years on this earth," I told her. "I left because I wanted you to have a normal life, but because of us being together-it seems your life just got more complicated."

"That seems like an understatement," she said with the slightest hint of a smile. I wanted to say more but Alice popped into my head. _We've gotta go, classes are about to start_ , she thought. _She'll come back to talk to you after school, I promise._

"Alice said you have to go in now," I told her sadly.

"Will you still be here?" she asked me. That was a simple enough question, but I could still see the fear that I would leave again in her eyes.

"I may do a little bit of hunting while you're in school, but yes I'll still be here," I promised her.

She nodded and went to turn around to go into the school. "I'll see you later," she said walking away.

So for the next six hours, I went back to the house to grab a book to read, a journal to write in, and went hunting. I finished the book in an hour and wrote nearly half a journal's worth of notes waiting for Bella to come back out of the school.

I heard her tell some of her classmates that she would be back after school had ended and she met me back in the same spot as this morning. "Why are you still at school?" I asked in confusion.

"I joined the yearbook committee," she informed me.

I nodded to show her that I was listening and that awkward silence was back; I hated this silence.

"What do you want, Edward?" She asked me quietly.

"I'm sorry?" I responded since I didn't really know what she meant.

"What do you want?" Bella posed the question again. "What did you see for our future?"

"I saw everything; us going to college together, getting married…" I started.

"But in that future I grew old and you'd follow behind, right?" she questioned.

"Bella, you're saying that like I would have had a choice; _I could never let go of you. I just couldn't live in a world where you didn't exist."_ I told her.

" _Bella, you're everything to me. Everything_."

"How can I truly be everything if you would do the one thing that would hurt me the most: imagining a world where you didn't exist?" Bella asked me sincerely. "I'll admit, I wanted to be a vampire because I wanted to be with you forever."

"Now I don't have that choice anymore and that scares the hell out of me," she admitted to me. "What makes it worse is that you seem to be okay with that idea."

"Of course I'm glad that this scares you!" I told her. "This is a choice that means eternity forever frozen this way."

"That's not what I meant and you know it!" she snapped. "Edward, do you want me to become a vampire?" she asked me.

"No," I said automatically. Finally, she closed the gap between us and offered me her wrist.

"Then you may as well be the one that finishes me off; I know you'll have the decency to end it quickly," She dared me.

"Bella, I'm not doing that!" I snapped at her.

"Then what other choices do either of us have Edward?" Bella sobbed. "Running won't do anyone any good; and don't you dare say you can protect me against an entire army of ancient vampires," she said as I prepared to argue.

"Running will just lead to problems for my parents: why can't I call them more? Why can't I come for a visit? How come they can't come to see me?" she continued. "And think about your family; haven't we put them through enough already?"

"Bella, why are you doing this to me?" I moaned.

"I'm not doing anything but trying to make you understand we don't have a choice in how to do this anymore. Do you want to hear the truth, Edward?" Bella asked me.

"God help me, I am still in love with you," she told me and I think that finally made me speechless. "But if we can't make these decisions together, then we can't be together."

"So, what do _you_ want, Bella?" I asked, turning her question around on her. I also realized that's the first time I think I ever really ask for her opinion about anything in our relationship. Now I grasped what my siblings were trying to tell me last night; the reason everyone else's relationship worked was that they acted like equals. Bella and I never did.

"I know that you'll never want me to become a vampire, but I need you to at least respect the fact that it has to happen," Bella began.

"I'll try to," I said. "What else?"

"I'm still trying to process how I feel about everything happening so fast," she started again.

"I just need you to understand that I need space." Now I was confused.

"You want me to leave?" I asked her.

"No, I don't want you to leave," she sighed. "What I mean is you can't just expect us to pick up where we left off as if nothing ever happened. It's like I told you before: when you all left, I watched a whole other life go along with you," she continued. "Any trust between us is strained right now, Edward."

"Then tell me what I have to do," I requested of her.

"First off, any new vehicle I get- you don't touch anything under the hood," she said with a raised eyebrow.

"I'm sorry about that," I said sheepishly. "I won't do anything like that again; what else?" I asked her.

" _When you left me, Edward, you left me bleeding. Jacob was the one to stitch me back up again. That was bound to leave its mark - on both of us. I'm not sure those kinds of stitches dissolve on their own. You can't blame either of us for something you made necessary. You may gain forgiveness, but that doesn't let you escape the consequences," she told me. "_ I just need you to understand that my friendship with Jake, although important to me, is just friendship. You can't beat your chest and cry out mine whenever he's near."

A little part, okay a large part, of me couldn't help but feel relieved that she said that. _I still had a shot_!

"I understand," I told her, trying to keep my emotions under control. "Anything else?"

"Tell me this, am I really just a distraction?" she asked. "Would it be easy for you to just pick up and leave again?"

"Oh Bella," I started. " _Only you could be more important than what I wanted...what I needed. What I want and what I need is to be with you, and I know I'll never be strong enough to leave again. The way I feel about you will never change. Of course I love you—and there's nothing you can do about it!"_

" _That's all I needed to hear_. Then promise me this: please at this particular point, just be my friend," she requested of me. _Wait, just friendship_?

"I don't want to just jump back into a relationship and feel like you have to validate me at every turn. I want us to really get to know each other this time, because I realized I don't know that much about you."

"All I'm asking is that you be patient with me while I still try to figure out what's going on in my own head," she concluded.

"Okay," I promised her. At that point, her cell phone alerted her that she got a text message.

"It's Jasper," she told me. "I guess everyone's getting worried that I haven't come back in yet and he can't stall for much longer."

"Go," I told her. "And let Jazz know that I'm sorry about that."

"I'll see you tomorrow?" Bella asked.

"I'll see you tomorrow," I promised her.

With a small smile, she walked away and back into the school. After she made it back in safely, I left for home. Bella was right; the trust between us is strained. Thankfully, all hope wasn't lost: Bella does still love me, but she just needed me to respect her choices and have patience with her. I waited nearly a century for her and lost her once; I sure as hell wasn't going to let that happen again.

 **Still here? Wow, you guys must really like these random A/N's then! I kid, I kid...Seriously, thank you guys for reading so far. Even if there have been some divisive moments in the story, you've still hung in there and I really appreciate it :)**

 **In case you need some fic to read in between my updates, Unbelievable Gifts by FeminineHeroes is amazing! It's a whole new take (that I've read anyway) on Bella already being a vampire and meeting the Cullens. And even better, the story is complete!**

 **Thanks for reading and following! Until next time...**

 **xoxo**


	15. Chapter 15

**A/N: Hey, sorry this took so long to be put up; work has been kicking my butt these past couple weeks :(**

 **So, real briefly we left off with Bella trying to define how she could handle her relationship with Edward for right now. This chapter takes place shortly after that conversation and later on into that evening. This chapter is going to include some surprising insight from an outside source...**

 **I don't own _Twilight_ , otherwise I could comfortably write fic all day and not worry about money...someday...**

" _You think of me as a… living stone — hard and cold. That's true. We are set the way we are, and it is very rare for us to experience a real change. When that happens, as when Bella entered my life, it is a permanent change. There's no going back…"_ _  
_ _―_ _ **Stephenie Meyer**_ _,_ _ **Eclipse**_

 **EPOV**

After talking with Bella, I decided to walk home at a human pace. I wanted to give myself the extra time to think about what she had said; she wanted me to stay. She needs trust to be built back as friends before we began a relationship again. I thought about what my siblings said and realized they were right: With the exception of the meadow, I had never taken Bella on an actual date. Yes, in between the summer of when we first met and when I mad the foolish mistake of leaving, we did actually spend time together; however that time was also always spent with either my family or Charlie.

I never took the time to properly woo her; I should have done the things I believed were trivial among human boys both now and the time period in which I had grown up. I should have left her little notes here and there, brought her flowers, done just simple things to make her happy. I know she would say just spending time with me was enough for her, but I never should have been content with just that knowledge. I've been surrounded by love all my life; I knew my father cared for my mother growing up, but I had never saw or heard them express how they felt, it was just a given.

However, my adoptive family had no issue expressing their love for each other, especially Rose and Emmett; I can't count how many times they've gotten married over the years…or how many houses they've knocked down. I had to laugh at that thought, but it was very sobering. I wanted that life with Bella; I couldn't picture the rest of my existence without her, but I still feared what she would lose by choosing me.

I could hear my family talking about working with the wolves by the time I reached the house. I walked in and the conversation was halted momentarily as I walked into the living room.

"We were worried about you, son," Carlisle greeted me. "Alice told us it would take you a while to get back to the house, but she didn't see why."

"I walked home; I just needed some time with my thoughts," I responded. "What were you all talking about before I came in?" I asked as I took a seat.

"We were talking about these temporary adjustments with the Quileutes," Jasper informed me. "Jacob is doing the best he can to try to keep the peace with his fellow pack members."

I nodded in silence; Part of me wanted to roll my eyes at hearing his name yet again, but the larger part that was grateful that he was doing the best he could to protect Bella as well silenced that.

"We're just trying to think of solutions that we can all live with," Esme added on. Alice looked at me with concern; she had seen Bella's future: she would become one of us eventually. She still figured that I wasn't okay with the idea.

"What were you thinking about, Edward?" Rosalie asked in a concerned tone.

"I owe all of you a sincere apology," I started. My siblings looked at me in confusion considering I had apologized to them last night. In hindsight, it really wasn't enough.

"Because of my selfishness, I put our family in harm's way; I know I love Bella, but everything is so confusing to me at the same time," I continued.

"I've never experienced these feelings before, but I feel like everything I do is in the extreme. I want to truly love Bella in the way she deserves, but I'm not a hundred percent sure what that means," I concluded.

"Ed, I think we owe _you_ an apology," Emmett said sincerely. Now it was my turn to look at everyone in confusion. I was the one who broke up the family; why would they apologize to me?

"Emmett's right; we've been just trying to back Bella's decisions and yes, we were mad but we took it too far," Alice agreed.

"Next to Carlisle, you've been a vampire the longest in our family; I think we forget that even in all the experiences you've had, you still think like an actual 17-year-old at times," Rosalie continued.

"And at least in the years since Alice and I have been part of the family, I've never gotten a hint of what you feel for Bella around any other girls," Jasper added.

"He had never shown interest before then either," Esme confirmed. I feel like if I could still blush from embarrassment, I would have been bright red.

"I think what we're all trying to say, Edward, is that we're sorry," Rose said. "We do care about Bella and what happens to her, but you were our family first. The way that we treated you was unfair."

"Thank you," I accepted their apology quietly. I felt a shift after that, like our family dynamic was almost back to where it needed to be; Bella was the only thing missing. "So what agreement did you come up with to keep peace with the wolves?" I asked my family.

At that point Carlisle told me how the wolves had been trying to catch Victoria and try to end the threat on both Bella and Forks in general; Alice and Rose told me how it was Bella who linked Victoria to the mysterious disappearances in Seattle; Emmett and Jasper informed me of how the family and the pack almost had her the other night, but she went onto the La Push reservation and jumped into the ocean where the wolves or my family couldn't catch her.

"Jacob sent me a text," Alice mentioned. "He's still trying to figure out how to get the rest of the pack on board with changing Bella, but all they're hearing is that the treaty is just about over. He wants to come over and just talk to you, Edward," she ended.

I could hear two sets of thoughts coming to the house. "I think he's almost here," I told my family.

"He's calm; it might help you out and you two can have a civil conversation," Jasper added. I nodded and walked out the front door. I walked out to our front yard and saw two sets of glowing eyes in the tree lines. One disappeared and a few moments later Jacob Black walked out in a pair of cutoff jeans, bare feet and no shirt. On his side was a large, sandy brown wolf.

"Don't you own a shirt?" I half-joked.

"Well, when you run about 108 degrees, shirts get a little uncomfortable," Jacob responded with a shrug of his shoulders. "This is Seth Clearwater, by the way," he added introducing the wolf.

 _Nice to meet you_ , Seth thought while slightly bowing his head as a way of introduction. "It's nice to meet you too, Seth," I responded out loud.

"Wait, how did…" Jacob started but then he must have realized I could read minds. "Never mind; did your family get you up to date on what's going on with the redheaded leech?"

"Yes, my family told me about the situation with Victoria and how you've all been helping to keep Bella safe in our absence," I responded.

"We love Bells just as much as you guys; we'd do anything to protect her," Jacob said in a quiet voice. "As her friend, I have to ask; are you really back for good this time?" he continued.

"I am," I told him. "I'm here for her until she orders me away; I don't make the same mistakes twice, Jacob," I thinly warned him.

"You can save the jealous speech; There's nothing like that between Bella and me," Jacob responded with an eye roll. "I'm actually interested in a friend of hers."

Now that caught me off guard; I thought for sure after I saw them kiss at Bella's house, he would try to fight for her. However, I wasn't going to mention that to him; no matter this somewhat rearranged treaty, he would kill me if he knew I were lurking around Bella's house after she had told me to stay away.

"Look, I can't say I hate you for what you did to her," Jacob said with a sigh. "So much of me wants to, and I still don't like what it did to her…" he faded out as he began to think of the bad shape she had been in when she first started to see him again; she was thinner, she had dark rings around her eyes. Any time my family or I were mentioned, she would literally hold her midsection as if she were trying to keep herself together. _What had I done_?

I audibly gasped and Jacob realized I must have seen what was going on in his head.

"So you can read minds," he said.

"Yes, I can," I admitted in a hollow voice. "I didn't believe she would be that bad off; she was supposed to just move on with her life, fall in love with someone else," I continued.

"It was bad; Charlie had actually threatened to send her to Florida with her mom," Jacob responded. "Her mom actually came up around October, I remember my dad was talking to Charlie about it. She was trying to follow you in the woods," he continued.

"I left her on a path to her house," I said sinking down to the ground. "She wasn't supposed to be hurt like that."

"She was," Jacob responded in a quiet voice. His voice should have been taunting and angry; why wasn't it?

"How do you not hate me right now?" I questioned. "How could she not hate me?" I said quietly to myself.

"How old are you?" Jacob asked out of left field.

"I'm sorry?" I responded. "How old are you, actually?" Jacob asked again.

"108," I answered. "I was turned in 1918 when I was 17 years old."

"That's why I don't hate you," Jacob responded. I must have looked at him in confusion because he continued on. "I know technically you're old enough to be my great grandfather a couple times over, but physically and mentally, we're around the same age."

"At times, even when we think we're doing the right thing, we can't say it's always the smart thing," he uttered. I looked at him in amazement; he was right, although I had learned so many things in my existence I was still essentially a teenager. A teenager that had fallen in love and didn't make the wisest decisions. I stood up and looked Jacob in the eye.

"So like I was saying before, I hate what your leaving did to Bells; at the end of the day, though it's still her choice how she wants to live her life," Jacob said. "I don't doubt that she still loves you, I just hope you're not leading her own only to dash her hopes again."

"Jacob, your belief that I'm leading Bella on couldn't be further from the truth," I assured him. _"You think of me as a… living stone — hard and cold. That's true. We are set the way we are, and it is very rare for us to experience a real change. When that happens, as when Bella entered my life, it is a permanent change. There's no going back…"_ I concluded.

"Good," Jacob said with a smirk. "I'll do my part in trying to convince my brothers and Leah that Bella being changed is really for her own protection, but I need you to do a couple things for me."

I was surprised by both Jacob's protective nature of Bella and the fact that he would ask me for anything.

"What do you want me to do?" I asked him.

"First, I don't know if you and Bella have started talking again; but if you have, try to treat her like a partner this time," he said. "It seems like you did a lot of shot-calling in the relationship the couple of times I saw you two together."

"Okay," I said surprised. "What's the other thing?"

"I know Bella is trying to make peace with the fact that she may spend the rest of her life as a vampire," Jacob said. "I don't know if that's the reason that you left, but for her sake, you have to make peace with it too. She's going to need you; all of you," he concluded.

I turned around and my family had come outside and stood just a few feet away from myself, Jacob, and Seth. "I never wanted this life for her," I said aloud. "I wanted her to be able to live out her life with me because I thought it would be selfish to make her like me; now I understand it would be more selfish to keep her human. I love her and I honestly can't picture feeling what I feel for her about anyone else." I concluded my epiphany.

"I promise that I'll make my peace with this," I told Jacob. He nodded and looked to Seth.

"Ready to deal with this?" Jacob asked Seth with a sigh. Seth nodded his head and began to turn so that he could head back into the forest. "We'll be in touch," Jacob said following Seth but I called his name to stop him before he got too far.

Jacob still looked back at me in human form. "What is it?" He called back.

"Thank you," I said to him; my thank you meant a list of things: protecting Bella, for being honest about how badly our leaving _really_ affected her, for making me understand it was about more than just my feelings about this.

"Sure, sure," he said. "But don't make it weird; we still have that whole 'mortal enemies' persona to keep up."

"We'll be seeing you soon, Wolfie," Alice called.

"You got it, Shorty," Jacob mockingly saluted and finally phased and followed Seth into the forest.

"Well, glad to see you somewhat on board," Rose teased. I had to chuckle at that.

"So what's the plan now?" Emmett asked.

"We have to wait and see with the wolves," Jasper sighed.

"We still have to make sure Bella is safe from that awful Victoria," Esme added.

"We have to keep the Volturi at bay," Carlisle mentioned.

"I'm seeing that as long as we keep a lower profile, the Volturi won't check on us at least until after graduation. Hopefully, we'll have solved the other two issues by then," Alice verbalized _._

"And most importantly, you need to get our girl back," Emmett told me.

"But she…" I started, but Rose cut me off.

"Alice told us: right now Bella said she can handle being your friend," she said. "So just work on being her friend."

"The trust is the most important thing you can have right now in Bella's choosing to be a vampire," Alice added. "I promise you: learn how to be her friend first, and your love is going to be stronger than ever."

I looked at my family: these were the same beings who loved and accepted me short temper and all; who may not have agreed right at the very beginning of our relationship, but once they knew I believed Bella was my mate, wholly supported us. This time, I would be the selfless one; I would bring Bella home to us and together, we would all protect her.

I nodded to my sisters and uttered the one word that showed how grateful I was for their help: "Okay."

 **So yeah, a little shorter than the last two chapters, but next time-we're moving on to the healing process. You didn't think I'd keep these kids separated forever, did you? ;)**

 **Thank you guys so much for reading and following (I'm at 100 now, yay!) This is the first time I've had a fic even get this far because I usually got discouraged and deleted about five chapters in. The fact that you all have been so invested really means a lot to me :)**

 **Okay, enough with this gooey sh-show of emotion... I'll see you soon with Ch. 16. Bye!**

 **xoxo**


	16. Chapter 16

**A/N: Yay, I made it back sooner than I thought :) So I promised that Bella and Edward wouldn't be separated for too much longer and this chapter is going to be the beginning of the new chapter in their love story. There's a section in here that I'm thinking about making into a separate outtake once the story is finished, so keep an eye out for that. I'm thinking it may be 10 more regular chapters and an epilogue- it's just a guess at this point. Anyway...**

 **I don't own _Twilight_ , I'm just a gal with an overactive imagination and a laptop ;)**

 **P.S: There is mention of Edward playing the piano in this chapter; if you are a reader that enjoys a musical background as you read a certain scene, Edward is playing New Moon (The Meadow) by Alexandre Desplat.**

" _I can't always be Lois Lane," I insisted. "I want to be Superman, too."_ _  
_ _ **―**_ _ **Stephenie Meyer**_ _ **,**_ _ **Twilight**_

 **BPOV**

I woke up the next morning feeling…different. Like something shifted overnight and things felt more balanced. It's a hard thing to explain; yesterday I told Edward that I only wanted friendship from him. My head was saying that was the logical thing to do; my heart on the other hand, knew what it wanted. Edward and I did need to learn more about each other, yes, but to call him my friend just felt off. I know that I'll never love anyone else the way I love him, but I'm admittedly still afraid to trust him.

Don't get me wrong, everything's not all sunshine and roses right now; I know that Victoria is still out there looking to get me alone. Thankfully Sam and Quil were watching out for me last night-Jake had text me to let me know. The Volturi's decree still loomed over my head, but I knew that the Cullens would protect me from that too.

I got out of bed and went to the bathroom to start getting ready for school. I called for Charlie and then saw the note on the kitchen table letting me know he had to get an early start and that he would see me later. I fixed a couple pop-tarts for breakfast and was finishing the last couple bites when I heard a car horn outside my door. I peeked out the front window and saw Jake standing outside his Rabbit.

I grabbed my jacket and my backpack, locked up the front door and met Jake in my driveway.

"I feel really bad that you have to do this," I told him as I gave him a hug.

"Don't worry about it, Bells," he said returning my hug. "Besides, it helps us to make sure you're safe and it gives me an excuse to see your friend Jessica." I smirked when he mentioned that and he rolled his eyes.

"Come on, before you're late to school," He said. We got in his car and he started to drive down the familiar highway to Forks High School.

"So I talked to Edward last night," Jake said out of the blue.

"You did," I asked, but it came out more like a statement. "What did you talk about?"

"We talked about how I'm trying to get the rest of the pack to understand that sooner or later, you may have to become an official member of the Cullen family," Jake said as he watched me out of the corner of his eye. "We may have also talked about you."

"What about me?" I asked in a nervous tone.

"He knows, Bella; he really knows how bad off you were when he left," Jake admitted with a sigh. "He saw it in my head; you could have warned me he was a mind reader by the way!"

"I just never thought that would have been a topic of conversation," I replied in a stunned tone. "What else did you guys talk about?"

"He told me why he didn't want you to be like him," Jake admitted as he pulled into the parking lot. A lot of the students hadn't gotten here yet, including Jessica. Jake put the car in park and we just sat while I waited for him to tell me. "He felt guilty for wanting you to be like him; he thought that he would steal the possibility of a normal future away from you if he ever decided to change you," Jacob told me.

"Edward always told me he couldn't endanger my soul that way," I told Jake. "He believes that because he was changed, the closest he would ever get to heaven was being with me…wait a second," I continued. I think I was having an epiphany.

"What is it?" Jake asked me, now looking over my shoulder because Jessica and Angela had both just pulled in. I noticed in his rearview mirror that Edward, Alice, and Jasper had also just pulled in. "I think I just had an epiphany, but it can wait because I really want you to go ask Jess out," I told him. _Also, I really think Edward needs to be the one to hear it…_

"Thanks a lot," Jake mumbled. However, his actions spoke louder than his words because he was out of the car in thirty seconds and was beginning to make his way towards the girls.

 **EPOV**

I knew I couldn't avoid being in school much longer, so Alice, Jasper and I got into my Volvo and made our way to Forks High. As we were driving, Jazz must have sensed my nerves about going back.

"What has you worried, brother: coming face-to-face with the student body again as if we haven't been gone or seeing how things are gonna go with Bella?" he asked me.

"A mixture of both to be honest," I admitted to him. "I'm afraid of all the white noise that's going to come now that I'm back and worse, how the boys are going to start thinking about Bella now that they know we aren't together anymore."

"I can't make any promises about the boys, but since Jazz and I have been back for a couple days it's been pretty quiet on that front," Alice reassured me. "It looks like it's going to continue on that path; turns out the student body is a lot more fickle than I thought."

"What did happen when you and Bella spoke the other day?" Jasper asked me. "We just knew Bella asked if you could respect her boundaries as a friend."

"You didn't tell him everything?" I asked Alice.

"I figured we had been on your back so much as of late, I owed you some privacy," Alice responded. "As for what else happens, unless Bella's life is directly in danger- I'm not going to share any visions of you two," she concluded with a smirk.

I had pulled into the parking lot of the school then and noticed Jacob's car. The two of them must have been waiting for whichever friend of hers Jacob became attracted to. I looked back at my sister, who was still smirking.

"Why won't you tell me anything?" I sighed.

"I think you relied on my visions too much when it came to your relationship with Bella," she replied. "This time, I'm taking the training wheels off. You two are going to determine the path of you relationship on your own this time."

"What if I mess things up again?" I presumed.

"Your feelings for her are true," Jasper assured me. "Some things don't always follow the rules of logic- yours and Bella's relationship is prove of that enough."

"Ooh, it looks like Jake's about to make his move!" Alice announced excitedly as she got out of the car. Jasper and I followed after her and stood in front of my car. At the same time, I noticed Bella getting out of Jake's car watching on in amusement. Much to my surprise, Jacob was going to speak with Jessica.

 _I think our free period is still the same; meet me in the yearbook room and we can talk about what happened with Bella the other day_ , Jasper thought. I nodded to let him know that I heard him.

"Bella's friend is coming this way! What do I do?" Jessica panicked.

"Just be calm and friendly, Jess," Angela tried to calm her. I always did like Angela; she had a sweet, calming presence about her.

"Hi," Jacob said awkwardly shifting his weight from foot to foot. "This is going to sound weird, but I'm a friend of Bella's…"he continued.

"Jacob Black, I remember," Jessica said in a breathy tone. "You and your friends hung with us at First Beach last year."

At this knowledge, Jacob gave her a big, toothy grin. _She remembers me_ , he thought to himself.

"Yeah, I'm Jake and you are…" Jacob started.

"Jessica, and this is our friend Angela Weber," Jessica said introducing themselves.

"It's nice to see you again, Jake," Angela greeted him.

"It's nice to see you again too," Jacob smiled at Angela. He then turned his attention back on to Jessica.

"This is going to come really out of the blue, but I was wondering if you would like to go out with me on Saturday afternoon?" Jacob asked her.

"Yes!" Jessica said excitedly. "I mean, yeah that sounds like fun," she tried to say nonchalantly.

"Do you happen to have your cell phone on you?" Angela asked him. Jacob nodded, pulled his phone out of his pants pocket and handed it to Angela. Angela then proceeded to input Jessica's number and call her cell phone from Jacob's.

"There, now you have each other's numbers," Angela said with a smile. "Between Bella and me, we'll make sure she calls you."

"Thanks a lot," Jacob said to her. "So, I'll see you Saturday?" He directed the question at Jessica.

"Yeah, just call or text me," Jessica said in a calmer voice.

"Okay then," Jacob said. He then took Jessica's hand and kissed it like someone who had grown up around the same time Jasper or I did. "I'll see you on Saturday, Jessica," he said to her.

"Okay," she whispered with a blush.

Jacob then started to walk back to his car where Bella was waiting with a giant smile on her face. God, she is so beautiful when she smiles.

"Pretty smooth," Jasper said in a low voice.

"Thanks," Jacob replied. I forgot, even in human form a shifter's hearing is almost as good as ours.

"Very smooth," Bella complimented him with a hug.

"Yeah, yeah," he said. "I'm never going to hear the end of this from you, am I?"

"Nope," Bella said with an emphasis on the 'p'. Jacob rolled his eyes then and gave her another hug good-bye.

"Call me if you need a ride home, okay?" He told her.

"I will, I promise," she answered him back. He then got in his car and drove back to La Push. At that point, Bella went up to her friends to talk about what had just happened and also the parking lot began to fill up along with thoughts about my presence back at the school.

"Come on, let's head inside," Alice said noticing my discomfort.

 **BPOV**

After I said good-bye to Jake, I walked up to Jess and Angela. "So, how's it going?" I asked.

"Bella Swan, did you put Jake up to asking me out!" Jess exclaimed.

"Nope, that was all him," I said happily. Jess breathed a sigh of relief then.

"Thank God, that would have been really awkward," she said.

"Hey, did you get a chance to talk to your dad about the permits yet?" Angela brought up.

"Oh man, it completely slipped my mind yesterday!" I exclaimed.

"That's okay," Jess said. "If you give him a call during lunch, maybe we can come over after school today and work on some of these plans."

"Sounds good," I said. "I'll send Jake a text now and let him know I'll grab a ride with you guys after school."

After I sent the message the three of us walked into the school and Jess gushed about her excitement for her upcoming date: how she didn't realize how cute he was before, how sweet he had been in asking her instead of just believing she would say yes. The first few classes went by easily enough; pop quiz and then review in Calculus, a test in French, and working on priming canvases in art class.

During art, I excused myself to get a drink of water when I spotted Edward coming out of the Yearbook room.

 **EPOV**

The first few hours of school went by in a blur, much like it did before Bella and I were together. Although I could hear everything that the teachers were saying, it was basically white noise. Everyone's thoughts circled back to how bad they felt for Bella and wondered how awkward it would be for her now that I was back. Of course the boys thought now they would have competition again and figuring they could take me; if they knew what I really was, their thinking would be very different.

During my free period, I went to find Jasper in the Yearbook room like he said he would be. He was working on layouts and listening to music on his iPod.

"I have to admit, this is a side I never thought I'd see outside of home," I told him with a smirk.

He laughed at that and took his earbuds out. "Well, I figured since we're back for a little bit longer, it might be good to blend in this time," he told me. I took the seat next to him and waited until he finished that particular section of the yearbook to talk to him.

"So what happened yesterday?" Jasper asked me. I told him about how Bella asked about us leaving, why she didn't understand how I could say that I love her and not turn her, that she asked me to stay; he had to laugh and agree with her that whenever she got a new vehicle, I was to never touch anything under the hood. Finally, I got to the part of the conversation where she asked me at this particular time to just be her friend because she wanted to really get to know me and not be in a relationship where she felt the need to constantly be validated.

"Well, she has a point Edward," Jasper sighed after letting me finish. "I think that may actually be better for the two of you in the long run. I know you two are mates; even in her anger, I could still sense Bella's love for you."

"Marcus said that he felt an incredibly strong bond between us," I told him. "Even though I still don't trust his brothers, I hope that he's right about that."

"He is," Jasper reassured me. "I don't think I've ever sensed a love like the two of you share; the love the men in our family have for each of their mates comes pretty close though," he concluded for a smirk.

Shortly after our conversation, I decided I would leave him to work on his layouts and I would maybe head to the music room if there was no one in there. On my way out, Bella was at the drinking fountain in the hallway.

"Hey," she greeted me.

"Hello, Bella," I responded.

"How's your day been?" Bella asked me. I had to laugh at that; did I just try to play it off and pretend I was okay or should I just be honest?

"It's honestly been a blur," I told her. "It just got a little bit better though." With that comment, I was rewarded with that blush of hers I missed so much.

"What about anyone's thoughts?" she asked me. "Have they been too difficult to deal with?"

"I've seen how you just kind of floated around the halls after we left about 100 times today," I confessed to her. "I don't think any amount of time will ever let me express how sorry I am for leaving."

"We'll get past it eventually," she told me in a sincere tone. She truly was giving me hope that we would be better. "Are you going to be with us at lunch today?"

"I think I'll sit this one out," I told her. I looked up and she had a sad expression on her face. "Don't worry, I'll see you in English," I reminded her.

"Okay," she said softly. "I'll see you later." With that, she walked back to her art class. I then proceeded to go to the music room where thankfully it would be free for the next period and a half.

 **BPOV**

After art, it was time for lunch; like I told Jess, I called Charlie at the station but one of his deputies picked up instead.

"Is everything okay with my dad?" I asked him.

"Yeah, the chief is fine. Dr. Cullen asked if he could come to the hospital to speak with him during his lunch break," Deputy Mark told me.

 _I_ _wonder what Carlisle needed to talk to Charlie about_ , I thought to myself. "Well can you just pass on a message for me?" I asked him. "Can you let my dad know that my friends Angela and Jessica wanted to come over today so we can ask him some questions about prom?"

"Not a problem, Bella," he assured me. We said our good-byes and hung up after that. I walked into the cafeteria and grabbed a sandwich, an apple and a bottle of water for lunch. After paying for my lunch, I went to go sit with our group. I hate that Edward felt like he had to avoid everyone because of me; I needed to clear this up. I sat down, ate my lunch and listened to everyone else's conversations without much enthusiasm until Eric asked, "Hey, how come Edward didn't sit with us today?"

"I still don't think he's feeling well," Alice said. "He may be sitting somewhere quiet like the music room," she added with a wink in my direction.

"Hey, I still have to call my dad about you and Ang coming over, so I'll see you guys later," I told Jess.

"Alright, see you later," Jessica said with a smirk. _Damn my transparency_ …

I walked over to the building where the music room was and heard Edward playing a beautiful but sad melody. I came into the room quietly because I didn't want to interrupt his playing; I missed hearing him play. Once he finished playing, he took full notice that I was in the room with him.

"You still get lost in yourself when you play," I said with a slight smile.

"It's the one way after all these years that I can tune out the outside noise," He revealed to me with a surprised look on his face. "I thought you would be at lunch with everyone else."

"I was; Alice kind of tipped me off that you were in here," I told him as I walked a little closer to the piano he was playing.

I couldn't fully make out what he said, but it sounded like he mumbled "annoyingly nosy vampire," under his breath.

"Did you want me to leave?" I asked him.

"No!" He responded quickly.

"No, I'd really like for you to stay, Bella," Edward said in a much calmer tone. I sat next to him at the piano and realized this is the closest we've been without tension for the past week and definitely within the last seven months.

"Jacob told me that you saw how I was dealing with you all leaving," I confessed to him after I sat down. "How much did you see?"

"I saw how you would hold yourself together as if you would crumble into pieces at the very mention of our existence," Edward said sadly.

"You didn't see the motorcycles?" I asked surprised.

"No, Jacob didn't mention or think about motorcycles," Edward said with an angry tone in his voice. _Oops_ …

"Wait, before you get mad at Jake for that, the motorcycles were actually my idea," I admitted.

"Bella, I asked you not to do anything dangerous! How could you put yourself at risk like that?" Edward asked me.

"Because doing something risky was the only way you would stay with me!" I told him.

"What in the world are you talking about?" Edward asked.

 _"Well, about that? See, I found that when I was doing something dangerous or stupid, I could remember you more clearly," I confessed, feeling completely mental. "I could remember how your voice sounded when you were angry. I could hear it, like you were standing right there next to me. Mostly I tried not to think about you, but this didn't hurt so much. It was like you were protecting me again. Like_ _you didn't want me to be hurt," I told him._ _  
_

 _"And, well, I wonder if the reason I could hear you so clearly was because, underneath it all. I always knew that you hadn't stopped loving me," I continued._

 _Again, as I spoke, the words brought with them a sense of conviction. Of rightness. Some deep place inside me recognized truth._

 _His words came out half-strangled. "You were risking your life to hear…"_

 _"Shh," I interrupted him. "Hold on a second. I think I'm having an epiphany here."_

 _I thought of that night in Port Angeles when I'd had my first delusion. I'd come up with two options. Insanity or wish fulfillment. I'd seen no third option._

 _But what if?_ _What if you sincerely believed something was true, but you were dead wrong? What if you were so stubbornly sure that you were right, that you wouldn't even consider the truth? Would the truth be silenced, or would it try to break through?_

 _Option three: Edward loved me. The bond forged between us was not one that could be broken by absence, distance, or time. And no matter how much more special or beautiful or brilliant or perfect than me he might be, he was as irreversibly altered as I was. As I would always belong to him, so would he always be mine._ _  
_ _Was that what I'd been trying to tell myself?_ _  
_ _"Oh!"_ _  
_ _"Bella?"_ _  
_ _"Oh. Okay. I see."_ _  
_ _"Your epiphany?" he asked, his voice uneven and strained._ _  
_ _"You love me," I marveled. The sense of conviction and rightness washed through me again._ _  
_ _Though his eyes were still anxious, the crooked smile I loved best flashed across his face. "Truly, I do."_

We sat in silence for a bit, both of us processing this information; I was still trying to trust Edward not to leave and break my heart again, but I did have to remind myself that he did still love me.

"Jacob also told me why you don't want me to be a vampire," I said breaking the silence.

"What did he say?" Edward asked with a wince on his face.

"He said that you felt guilty for wanting it," I told him. "Is that true?"

"Yes," Edward sighed. "Bella, I know that Alice has seen this future multiple times; I shouldn't want it but I do," He continued.

"I just hate to think of everything that you would give up: the chance to have children, your parents seeing you get older, and I truly hate the thought of you losing your soul," he concluded.

"I don't know if it's really my soul you're worried about," I confessed to him as I stood with a smirk.

"What do you mean?" Edward said with a confused look on his face.

" _If you really believed that you'd lost your soul, then when I found you in Volterra, you would have realized immediately what was happening, instead of thinking we were both dead together. But you didn't―you said '_ _Amazing. Carlisle was right_ _,'" I reminded him, triumphant._

 _"There's hope in you, after all."_ _  
_ _For once, Edward was speechless._ _  
_

 _"So let's both just be hopeful, all right?" I suggested. "Not that it matters. If you stay, I don't need heaven."_

 _He got up slowly, and came to put his hand on either side of my face as he stared into my eyes. "Forever," he vowed, still a little staggered._ _  
_

 _"That's all I'm asking for," I said, and stretched up on my toes so that I could press my lips to his cheek._

Our little bubble had been popped by the bell. "Time for English," Edward said softly with a smile. We grabbed our things and left the music room side by side. No one ever filled his seat next to me in English, so we sat down together at our table. Jessica and Angela looked thrilled, Eric seemed happy for us, and Mike followed in last scowling. _I guess some things never change…_

 **EPOV**

I was so close to being able to call Bella mine again, I could feel it. I was still going to have to talk to Alice about her supposed "non-interference" between Bella and I, but I couldn't be mad at her for it; Bella had actually came to find me on her own. There was still a chance for us.

Mr. Bertie called the class to order and we began class discussion on Macbeth. Even though I had technically missed a lot of the curriculum, I was able to jump right back in as if I were here for the seven months. After our 10 minute discussion, Mr. Bertie pulled out the ancient TV and played the film adaptation of Macbeth.

I couldn't help but to be curious about the conversation that Bella and I had in the music room. I took out a sheet of paper and wrote a note:

 _Why the sudden change?_

 _ **What do you mean?**_ She wrote back.

 _I know yesterday you had asked for me to give you space, but after our conversation in the music room- it feels like you actually want to be near me._

 _ **I'm sorry,**_ she started again. _**I know that I said that yesterday, but I still felt hurt and angry. I don't know what it was but last night as I went to sleep, I realized that this is still a part of our lives that we can control. I keep thinking about the fact that Victoria and the Volturi are a threat that are looming around us; I would rather not spend any possible moment being mad at you. We still need to build our trust for each other back up, but I'd rather do it together than apart.**_

 _So does that mean you don't want me to stay away?_

 _ **No, I want us to figure out our relationship together. I do have one request though…**_

 _Anything…_

 _ **This time, you can't just dazzle me; I'd like to be wooed this time, Mr. Cullen**_ **;)**

I thought back to the conversation we had yesterday; if we were growing up back when I was originally 17, there is a chance Bella would have been the girl who had grown up next door to me that I saw as a friend, but would have wanted to court when we were older. In actuality, the scenario wasn't quite as different- If I had done things that same way, Bella would have been the friend that I would try to respectfully woo in this day and age as well.

Who says feelings of friendship and love can't go together?

 _Then woo you I shall, Miss Swan_ :)

 **Even though there were some honest parts in this chapter, I'm almost worried I made it too sweet...But you guys went through 15 angsty chapters, you deserve some fluff ;)**

 **That and maybe 3 or 4 chapters from now, things are REALLY going to get dramatic...and fast! So, Charlie's conversation with Carlisle will probably be an outtake that will come at a later time (and I would probably save Jess and Jake's first date as a future outtake too). So, thank you all again for reading, review, following and favoriting (yes it's not a real word, but I'm making it one!)**

 **Until the next time,**

 **XOXO**


	17. Chapter 17

**A/N: Hey guys, I can't apologize enough for the wait. Partial reasons are due to work and I think I scared myself to try and have this story actually done in 10 more chapters! So instead, I'll let the story flow organically until I think it's time to move on :)**

 **On that note, I don't own _Twilight_ -but it's now almost 8 years since the first film was released. Holy Crow!**

" _Our relationship couldn't continue to balance, as it did, on the point of a knife. We would fall off one edge or the other, depending entirely upon his decision, or his instincts. My decision was made, made before I'd ever consciously chosen, and I was committed to seeing it through. Because there was nothing more terrifying to me, more excruciating, than the thought of turning away from him. It was an impossibility."_ _  
_ _―_ _ **Stephenie Meyer**_ _,_ _ **Twilight**_

 **APOV**

It took everything within me not to do a happy dance during calculus. I saw Edward and Bella reconnecting in the music room and continuing their conversation through notes during English. I know Edward would be upset because I told Bella where he would be, but I said I wouldn't tell _him_ about my visions anymore; I never said anything about giving Bella occasional hints.

I took a quick peek at my cell phone and saw that Rose had text me.

 **Everything going okay?**

 _Everything's fine. B+E are talking again :)_

 **Thank God! No More EMOWARD! :D**

 **Sry, Emmett grabbed my phone :(** **I am glad they are talking again though. Takes away one issue**

 _Well, it's a work in progress; have 2 check w/ furry allies_

 **Sam called Carlisle, they've agreed to meet with us on Sunday night.**

 _Thnx 4 the update. Talk to you after I come back from Bella's._

 **She's okay, right?  
**

 _Yeah, Jessica and Angela are going to ask me for prom help afterschool ;)_

 **Ok, ttyl**

I put my phone away in just enough time to answer the problem that the teacher posed to the class.

Afterwards, I went to English passing Edward and Bella walking side by side together, smiling. _Definitely a work in progress_ , I thought to myself. I let my mind wander as the teacher went back to the section of Macbeth that he had shown the previous class; thank God the school at least upgraded to a DVD player to make it easier on the teachers.

I tried to see what would happen with Victoria; even though she tried to stay unpredictable so that I would be able to see her coming, her patterns were starting to get easier to read. She would try to creep near Bella's house, away from where the wolves or we could catch her scent; once we did, she would dart past us and find some body of water to escape in or near.

We knew she was hovering somewhere near Seattle, but it was hard to try and figure out why two students had gone missing, unless…

Unless, she had changed the two of them to try and find Bella too. We wouldn't recognize their scents and we'd be so distracted trying to figure out who they are, we wouldn't see her coming for Bella.

I took a deep breath to calm down and not bring attention to myself. I would have to tell Edward and Jasper before I left to go with the girls this afternoon. I made it through my other two classes without interruption and left to meet Jasper and Edward in the parking lot. I waited for about five minutes before the two of them came outside, joking and laughing- a sight I haven't seen in a while. Though that should have lifted my mood, I couldn't help thinking about my vision.

"Hey Alice," Edward greeted with a laugh. One look at my face, and the laughter stopped.

"What's the matter, darlin'? What did you see?" Jasper asked in a worried tone.

"I think I know what Victoria is trying to do," I told them. "The two students in Seattle that went missing are from Forks, right?"

Both of the boys nodded solemnly, and I continued. "I think that she picked those two specifically because they're from the area; they would know places to go like…"

"Like Chief Swan's house," Edward finished in a horrified tone. "That's how she's been evading you; she's been using their scents to throw you off and then lead you on a wild goose chase," he concluded.

"Miserable bitch," Jasper growled. "We need to catch her and soon." Edward and I nodded our agreement just as Bella, Angela, and Jessica walked out to Angela's car.

"Hey Alice!" Jessica called. "We're going over to Bella's house to talk about some of the plans for prom. Did you wanna come with us?"

"Yeah, sure!" I called back plastering a smile on my face. "I'll see you guys later," I told the boys.

I skipped over to the girls as we prepared to get into Angela's car. "Is everything okay?" Bella asked low enough that only I would hear her.

"Yeah, everything's fine," I told her. I hated to lie to her, especially after all the shit we gave Edward about it. However, I didn't want her to be in a panic about Victoria; she was already dealing with so much, I just wanted her to have a normal day.

We rode to Bella's house while idly talking about school; Angela and Jessica caught me up on who hooked up and broke up while we were away. On the subject of hookups, I asked about Jacob, and Jessica proceeded to spend the rest of the drive talking about her excitement for their date on Saturday.

Once we got out of the car and the girls made their subsequent calls to their parents, Jessica pulled a notebook out from her backpack and began to write down some of the ideas she had for prom. Bella and I went in the kitchen to grab some things for the three of them to snack on.

"Alice, what's really going on?" Bella asked me while we were in the kitchen. I looked back into the living room where Angela and Jessica were talking about the color scheme that they could use for the linens.

"It's nothing I really want to talk about in front of mixed company," I told her while nudging my head toward the living room. Bella looked back at the girls herself and realized what I meant; she knew I figured out something about Victoria.

"As long as you promise not to keep me in the dark too long," Bella told me with a pointed look. I nodded to her as my promise. We grabbed the rest of the drinks and made our way back to the living room.

 **BPOV**

We kept talking about plans while Alice sketched some of the ideas Jess had; the only thing I could think of though was that Alice may know something about Victoria and she wasn't telling me. I hated feeling coddled like a little kid; yes, I am scared to death of what could happen but I would rather be in the loop.

"So what do you think?" Alice said showing the rough sketch of Jess' design idea.

"Oh my God! It looks beautiful," Jessica squealed.

"You're really good at this," Angela agreed.

"I'm glad you like it," Alice said with a smile.

"Do you really think Esme can get everything together by prom?" I asked her.

Alice just gave me a look that said never bet against her…or Esme.

"All right, all right," I conceded. "So when my dad gets in, I'll ask him who we have to get in touch with for the permits; anything else that we really need to do?"

"We need to start getting the word out at school," Jess said in full planner mode. "I'll talk to Mrs. Cope in the morning about starting to add that to the morning and afternoon announcements. Angela, can you design a couple flyers for us and I can take a look at them before the week ends?" she concluded.

"Yeah, I'll work on them when I get home," Angela told her. "I'll email them to you guys and you can give me your input," she said to all of us.

"I'll talk to Esme about getting everything else when I get back home," Alice said. "Now we can focus on the more fun aspect of prom: dress shopping!" she added with a clap of her hands.

I groaned aloud and got a sympathetic laugh from Angela.

"Oh come on, Bella! It won't be that bad," Jess tried to reassure me.

"You've never been shopping with Alice Cullen," I told her.

"All the more reason to make a girls trip out of it," Alice said as if it were the most logical explanation in the world. "How about next weekend?"

Just as Alice was asking that, Charlie walked into the house. The four of us greeted him as he came and sat in his recliner. He gave a small nod and smile in response. "Rough day, dad?" I asked him.

"You could say that, Bells," Charlie responded. "So, how much of your planning did you girls actually get done?"

"We actually have just about everything done, Chief," Jess answered with a smile. "Bella was just going to ask you about permits."

"It would still be on school grounds, but we wanted to have it outside in a tent to give us a change in atmosphere," I explained.

"Well, first you have to get permission from the principal," Charlie told us. "After that, he should get in touch with the school board. Once they give the go ahead, we work with the mayor's office to get the permit for you to set up for the night," he continued. "All in all, the process should be done by the middle of next month."

"We can talk to him tomorrow morning," Alice said.

"Anything else interesting happening with you girls?" Charlie asked.

"Alice was suggesting a shopping trip for our prom gowns next weekend," Angela piped up.

"Not Seattle, right?" Charlie asked with concern in his voice.

"No I was thinking maybe we could do a girls' trip to Vancouver for the weekend. I can ask my mom if she wouldn't mind chaperoning," Alice offered.

Charlie looked contemplative for a moment, but thankfully relented and said, "Okay, just be sure to check in with your old man a couple times."

"I will," I promised him. "Thanks, dad." Charlie nodded and asked if he should order a pizza for us, but the rest of the girls declined saying that they had to head home. Alice called Jasper so that he could meet her at Angela's house; after that the girls left the house with the promise that I would text one of them to let them know if I needed a ride in the morning.

After the girls left, I fixed dinner while Charlie watched some old game footage. As we sat down, Charlie cleared his throat and I knew he had something important to tell me. "So you won't have to worry about dinner on Friday," he hedged.

"Are you heading back to Seattle on Friday?" I asked him nervously because I was afraid for his safety.

"No, I'm still going to be here in Forks," he reassured me. "I went by the hospital today; Dr. Cullen called me to ask if we would come over for dinner on Friday," he finished as he took a bite of his steak.

I looked down at my plate surprised that the Cullens would invite Charlie over as well, but then I realized they probably wanted to try and make a better impression on him as well.

"We had a pretty good talk about what happened and he's doing his best to assure me that what happened between you and Edward won't happen again," Charlie continued.

"Do you believe him?" I asked hopeful.

"I believe in what Carlisle, Esme and their two girls have to say; I still have to check Edward out for myself," Charlie said cutting into his steak a little more aggressively than he needed to at that point.

"We spoke at lunch today," I nervously disclosed to him.

"How did that go?" Charlie asked me.

"I think pretty well; we agreed to try being friends and see where we go from there," I told him.

Charlie nodded, but added, "I'm still reserving judgement.'

"I'd expect nothing less, chief," I replied with a smirk. We continued eating dinner in quiet conversation. Charlie went upstairs to turn in early; I knew that the situation in Seattle was really wearing on him. I hoped that between the Cullens and the Wolves, they would be able to clear this up.

After I cleaned up the kitchen and worked on my homework, Alice sent me a message that she and Rosalie were 30 seconds away from my house. I opened the door and the girls came in.

"I really hate this bitch," Rose quietly seethed.

"Does that mean you're actually going to tell me what you saw?" I questioned Alice.

"I think the reason that she found Riley and Cassandra, is because they're from Forks," she started to explain.

"With those two, she could bounce back and forth between the two as much as she damn well pleases," Rose added angrily.

"Meaning they could follow me at any time," I realized in a shaky tone.

"You know we're not going to let them touch you," Rose growled protectively. "Us or the wolves."

"Bella, this is why I didn't want to tell you," Alice said. "I didn't want you to worry and be a mess around school."

"Alice, how can I not be worried?" I told her. "My father's investigating a case that she caused out of her hate for Edward and I; people have gone missing, Jess and Angela could get hurt because of this!"

"You know we won't let that happen," Alice tried to reassure me. "Between all of us wanting to keep you and the town safe and especially because none of us want to risk exposure, we'll do everything we can."

We heard Charlie's work phone ring from upstairs. "I just don't want to see my father get hurt," I pleaded with the girls.

"We know Victoria is dangerous, but clearly she's not stupid," Rose said. "She wants you two to suffer, but only by her own doing. Everyone else would just be collateral damage."

"Charlie is heading back to Seattle tonight," Alice told us. "Apparently, they found a victim of one of her attacks still alive."

"Meaning she wasn't planning on changing them," Rose said quietly. "But the better question is why would she leave a witness alive?"

"We'll see," Alice said. "Charlie's going to have you call and ask Carlisle if he can spare one of the boys to stay with you tonight. We'll still circle around with the wolves to keep you safe."

"Okay," I said letting the girls out just in time for Charlie to come downstairs in his uniform.

"You alright, Bells?" he questioned me.

"Yeah, I'm fine. Just wanted some air," I told him as I walked away from the door.

"Do you have to go back to Seattle again tonight?" I asked him.

"Yeah," he sighed sadly. "Bells, I'm gonna ask you something strange: do you think you'd be comfortable staying at the Cullens' place tonight?"

 _Whoa, either Alice was wrong for once or Charlie must have changed his mind_ , I thought to myself.

"I think I'll be okay," I answered in a confused tone.

"They seem like they have plenty of room, so you won't have to worry about Edward being too into your space or anything like that," Charlie said uncomfortably.

"Dad, we're just trying to be friends again; plus I'm still a virgin and I think I'll be staying that way for a little while longer," I tried reassuring him.

"Well, thanks for putting your old man at ease," Charlie said. "Go grab some clothes for tomorrow and your school stuff. I'm gonna call Carlisle and see if they don't mind you staying."

I nodded and went upstairs to get my things. I peered out the window to see if I saw the familiar glow of the pack's eyes staring back at me. It was still a little too early, but hopefully Alice saw what was happening and got in touch with Jake somehow.

I came back downstairs just as my dad hung up the phone. "Carlisle said he doesn't mind you coming over there; he also promised father to father that you and Edward will be respectable," Charlie said.

"Okay," I responded. We left out the front door together and while Charlie looked forward, I looked around everywhere hoping Victoria wouldn't get the jump on us. We got in the cruiser and drove the familiar winding road to the Cullens' house. Carlisle and Esme were standing on the front porch as we pulled up.

"Welcome, Charlie," Carlisle greeted him. "Bella, it's good to see you again," he smiled at me.

"I wish it were under better conditions," I replied trying to smile back.

"Thank you again for letting Bella stay the night with you," Charlie said. "I would have asked if one of your boys could have come over instead, but I think with all three of them together she'll be safer."

"You're right, our boys are much stronger when they're together," Esme agreed. "Don't worry Charlie, we'll take good care of Bella," she promised him.

He nodded and went to get back into his cruiser. "Please be careful," I asked him.

"Always am," he responded just like always. The three of us watched him pull out of the driveway and they then escorted me into the house. Alice pulled me into a hug as I walked into the house.

"He changed his mind so quickly I didn't get a chance to tell you after I got off the phone with Jake," Alice told me. "Since you're here…the wolves actually want to speak with us tonight."

"Speak to us about what?" Edward and I asked at the same time.

"You guys haven't broken the treaty in anyway, right?" I asked.

"In order to change you, we would have to," Edward told me.

"But I thought it was if you killed a human…" I responded.

"Nope, Ephraim Black was very specific: if we bite a human, period, the treaty is over," Rose explained to me. "But Jake is going to want to help in any way he can," she assured me.

"But what can Jake do if Sam's the Alpha?" I questioned. At that, Emmett had to laugh.

"Bells, you realize Jake asked Sam to be Alpha," Emmett stated. "All the wolves can link their ancestry back to Chief Taha Aki, but the Blacks have been holding the chief lineage for a while now. Bella, Jacob is the actual chief and Alpha of the Quileute Wolf Pack," he clarified for me.

"So, essentially, our fate's in Jake's hands," I assumed.

"Well, his and yours, love," Edward told me.

I looked to him confused and was going to ask him what he meant when Jasper interjected. "What Edward means is we've all made our choice about you being part of the family; the rest is up to you," he told me. "Jacob is trying to convince the rest of the pack, but it's a hard sell considering the treaty."

"So the _whole_ family is really on board with me becoming a vampire?" I questioned, looking to Edward. He then took me by the hand and looked me in the eye.

"In case our conversation from earlier is still leaving you with some doubts; yes I will miss the things that make you human, but I'd much rather have you by my side forever than not be with you," he told me.

"Does that mean you change your vote to 'yes'?" I asked him with a hopeful tone in my voice. I was then rewarded with the crooked smile I missed so much.

"Yes, Bella," Edward said. "I want you to be a part of this family, in every sense of the word."

With that declaration, I hugged him as hard as I could. I think if he could have done so without breaking me, he would have too.

"Alright, enough of this gooey show of emotions," Emmett called from the living room. "Alice, got a time frame for the wolves coming?"

"Well, my vision just went dark so any time now," Alice announced. With that we all went to sit in the living room as Carlisle and Esme went to meet the wolves outside. Rose and Emmett went around opening windows 'to help keep the air clear' as they put it; I didn't get what the big deal was about the scents, everyone smelled fine to me.

Shortly after, the entire pack came in; Leah and Paul both stood in the background with scowls on their faces; Jared, Embry, and Quil came in with unusually somber expressions on their usually joking faces, Jake and Seth looked serious but not unfriendly, and Sam had that damn neutral, all knowing look on his face.

"We'd like to thank you for coming to our home on such short notice," Carlisle started.

Paul scoffed and said, "We wouldn't have to be here if you weren't so dead set on breaking the treaty."

He then looked to me and said, "You were better off without these damn bloodsuckers, Bella. Remember, they didn't think enough of you to stay and fight their own battles."

With that, Emmett rose up as if he were preparing for a fight; Jasper quietly growled in his seat, and Edward looked heartbroken-feeling that he was a disappointment again. Rose grabbed Emmett by the shoulder to keep him back, Alice worked to calm Jasper down, and I grabbed Edward's hand to keep him from going down the path that he should have left me alone in the first place.

Leah looked at our hands with a sense of longing and some confusion.

"You're still in love with him," she said. "How can you still love him after he left you?"

"Because they…" Paul started, but I cut him off.

"Paul, if you can't keep your mouth shut, I'm going to ask Jake to throw your ass out of here," I told him in a strong enough voice.

Jake looked back at him and said, "And I'll do it with a shit-eating grin on my face, too."

Paul growled, but stayed silent. Emmett and Jasper settled at that point and I went to answer Leah's question.

"I still love him because I can't imagine not feeling that way about him anymore," I told her honestly. "I wanted to stop though; I wanted to hate him for leaving, but I couldn't find it in me to. It's like imprinting for you guys: gravity doesn't seem to hold me, it's him," I concluded.

The pack looked at me surprised, Paul actually looked a little ashamed, even Sam's expression thawed a bit.

I let go of Edward's hand and looked toward my other family. "I know that Jake told you guys that I have to become a vampire, but has he told you why?"

"He told us that there's this ancient coven that pretty much demands it," Sam answered. "Bella, we care about you, but we can't let this treaty be broken."

"Even if it means her death?" Rose asked. At that the pack looked shocked.

"Jake, why the hell wouldn't you tell us something like that!" Jared exclaimed.

"I've been trying to, but you guys have mostly focused on the Bella being bitten part," Jake answered.

"You mean they would come all the way from Italy just to kill you?" Seth asked in a sad tone.

"Not just me; they might go after Charlie too just because," I explained to them. "Then the Cullens would be destroyed for not doing what they said. I know that part may not matter to some of you, but it does to me. They're my family just as much as you guys and Charlie are," I concluded.

The pack looked to Sam, but he stayed silent. "Sam…" Jake started. He just continued to stand there stone-faced. "Sam, I never wanted to be in the pack, let alone be the leader. I'm asking you as a brother, please don't make me have to challenge you for my birthright," Jake told him.

"What if we were to compromise?" Edward asked, standing next to me.

"There is no compromising this, Edward," Sam said. "You made the deal with Ephraim and you'll continue to stand by that now."

"So you'd rather they break the treaty somewhere else?" Jake said. "Or have Bella's death on your conscience?"

"You'd break the treaty your grandfather established," Sam said to him.

"No, but for a situation as extreme for this- I'm willing to amend it," Jake said.

"I'm not going to stand by while you damn Bella's soul," Sam said walking out the house.

"Good luck on your own, Jakey boy," Paul sneered.

"He won't be, he has me," Leah said.

"Me too," Seth said standing by his sister and Jake. Jared, Embry and Quil all folded their arms, daring Paul to say something. Seeing he was outnumbered, Paul silently walked out the house behind Sam.

Jake looked taken aback that the majority of the pack stayed with him. "You said you want to protect Bella, so do we," Quil said with a shrug of his shoulders, as if this was just an everyday occurrence.

Jake nodded and looked back to Edward. "So, what's your compromise?" Jake asked him.

"For one, we'll respect the land and not change her in Forks or anywhere in Washington State for that matter," Edward said. The rest of the pack nodded, seeming to be alright with that.

"Sounds fair," Jake said with a solemn nod. "What else?"

"We'll only change her if she's in truly dire need," Carlisle added.

"Dire need as in that would be the _only_ way to save her?" Embry questioned.

"Yes," Carlisle answered. "With the exception of Alice and Jasper, that is how our family came to be."

"But if you change her and she's not in dire need, I want it to 100 percent be Bella's choice," Jake said. "I want her to do it not because she's afraid, but because she wants to."

The fact that it meant so much to Jake about my still having a voice showed that my best friend was truly on my side, even if it was going against what he believed in.

"Is everyone alright with this agreement?" Carlisle asked the rest of the family. The family nodded and Jake looked to his pack.

"How about you guys?" He asked them.

"As long as we get to kick some other vampire ass, I'm good," Jared said, earning him a slap on the head from Leah.

"Idiot," she mumbled quietly.

"So, do we have an agreement?" Carlisle looked to Jake.

Jake stretched his hand out to meet Carlisle's. "We're agreed," Jake said.

"Bella, I hope you'll be happy with your choice. To the rest of you, I don't know what's going to happen with Victoria; just in case I don't get to say it, please take care of my friend."

With that, the pack silently followed behind Jake and closed the door behind them. I think we all took a sigh of relief. "Well, I'm glad to know the majority of the wolves are behind us," Jasper said.

"I think Jake might be able to bring the others around," Alice added.

"I certainly hope so," Esme responded.

"Are we doing watch shifts?" Rose asked.

"Sounds good; I'll take first watch," Emmett volunteered.

"I'll go with you," Esme offered.

"I will too," Jasper said.

"Alright, I'll continue to do some work in my office; we need to start preparing to leave again soon," Carlisle announced. He pulled me in for a hug before he went upstairs. "I am truly glad you're back with us, Bella," he said.

"Thank you," I said quietly.

"Well, while the boys and Esme are outside, I'm going to find you something to wear to school tomorrow," Alice said.

"Alice, I did bring clothes with me," I told her.

"Yeah…I'm going to go look," She said skipping up the stairs.

"I'll make sure she doesn't go overboard," Rose said with a slight roll of her eyes.

"Thank you," I said in a tired voice.

"Are you ready for bed, Bella?" Edward asked. I nodded; all of this talking was making me tired. I followed Edward upstairs and entered his room for the first time in months.

It still looked the same with the exception of the giant bed in the middle of his room now. "There's a bed in here now," I brilliantly pointed out. Edward chuckled lowly behind me.

"Yes, it's was actually here before we…" He began to say but trailed off.

"Before you left; it's okay, Edward," I told him. "We can mention it now and know that the world won't end."

He smiled a sad smile. "I honestly don't think I ever be able to apologize enough," Edward told me.

"Honestly, you can stop apologizing," I told him. "Just keep your promise that you won't be strong enough to leave again."

Edward took my hand and kissed it. "That I can do," he responded.

 **So, ending it there but hopefully I'll be back sooner that later :)**

 **Hope everyone in the states reading this has a very happy Thanksgiving next week and everyone outside the U.S, hope you have a great week overall ;)**

 **xoxo**


	18. Chapter 18

**A/N: I won't even begin to bore you with why it's taken me so long to post. All I can say is I'm sorry it did take so long and hope everyone enjoyed their holidays!**

 **I don't own _Twilight_ , but maybe one day I'll have a series of my own...I just need to stop being so lazy :p**

" _The morning brought with it, if not a brighter outlook, at least a measure of control, some acceptance. Instinctively, I knew that the new tear in my heart would always ache. That was just going to be a part of me now."_ _  
_ _―_ _ **Stephenie Meyer**_ _,_ _ **Eclipse**_

 **JacobPOV**

We ran back to the rez as fast as our legs could carry us; tonight, we didn't catch a hint of vampire scent- we just needed a moment of levity in the midst of all this. We separated to find our individual things as we shifted back to our human forms. Once we were all dressed, we walked back on the land where my father, Sue Clearwater, Sam, and Paul were waiting for us.

"Jacob, son what did you do?" my father asked me. Sam and Paul stood by him scowling as I answered, "I took back my rightful place as Alpha."

"You just started a war!" Paul yelled. "He's allowing Bella to be changed and breaking the treaty in the process."

"If your dumb ass would have stayed and been willing to compromise, you would know Jake didn't break the treaty!" Seth yelled back at Paul. He turned to his mother sheepishly then and apologized for his language.

"I'll let it slide this time," Sue said in a warning tone. She then turned to me and asked, "Exactly what happened Jacob?"

I sighed and explained the temporary new points of the treaty: how the Cullens wouldn't change Bella anywhere in the state and how it would only be if it were the only possible way to save her life.

My father looked at me warily. "Jake, I hope you're not trying to do this for any crazy reason," he told me.

"It's not like that, Dad," I told him. He knew at one point, I thought Bella was my one; I hadn't told him that I had imprinted on her friend yet.

"Even if her life weren't being threatened by this ancient coven and this crazy red head we've been chasing for months, Bells would choose this life. She loves him, Dad; I'm just trying to be her friend."

"It's a noble cause Jake, but think about what this means," Sam tried to reason with me. "Even if she's not changed here, she could cause a problem wherever they take her."

"The Cullens claim that they don't feed on humans; I'm sure they would do the best they can to help her not lose control," Sue countered.

"It doesn't change the fact that Charlie is never going to be able to see his daughter grow up or have grandkids," Paul argued.

"How do you even know if she wants kids," Leah argued back. "Think about it if you were in the Cullens perspective: If there was a way to ensure Emily or Rachel would always be safe and by your side, wouldn't you do what you could?" She continued.

Paul and Sam hung their head down in shame. "I do have to agree with something Bella said: it's almost like Edward imprinted on her; when you mentioned that he didn't stay-he looked broken. If he truly believed he was in the right, he wouldn't have had this look of regret," Jared said.

"I just don't get why Jake suddenly stopped fighting for her," Paul replied as he glared at me.

"I'm done fighting for someone who was never meant to be mine," I told him with a shrug of my shoulder.

My father took a really good look at me and smiled. "You found your imprint," he said with certainty. I had to grin back at him.

"I did," I replied. I started to get cheers and questions from everyone; a short time later, Sue wheeled my father back to our house while the rest of us kept talking about what this new treaty would hold for us. This time, Paul and Sam actually stayed and participated in the conversation; for Bella's sake, I hope I got them on her side.

 **BPOV**

I went into Edward's bathroom for a couple human moments as I got ready for bed. I at least brought a set of the pajamas Alice bought me while we were in Nebraska; they were cute, but not too over the top.

Edward was looking out the window into the forest as I was coming out of the bathroom. He looked over at me and smiled. I smiled back and climbed into the massive bed that now occupied Edward's room.

"So when you got this bed, was it just so I would have somewhere a little more comfortable to sleep?" I jokingly asked. If Edward could have blushed, I think he would have in that moment. He shyly ducked his head down and sat next to me.

"At one point, I thought that maybe we could try to push our physical boundaries a bit more," Edward explained quietly. "But after what happened, I couldn't even think about that-much less try to initiate anything."

"So it's still the idea that you find me fragile that scares you?" I asked calmly. Edward sighed and nodded.

"Okay, just like we're taking our time in figuring out our relationship, we'll take our time with that part of our relationship. It's all about trust, Edward," I told him.

He nodded, kissed me on the forehead and hummed my lullaby until I drifted off to sleep.

 **EPOV**

I listened as Bella's breathing became more even and I knew she had fallen asleep. My girl was slowly starting to trust me again and I couldn't be happier. However, my happiness is short-lived when I remember that Victoria is still out there. I take one last look at her and head to Carlisle's study.

I knock softly on the door and then I'm greeted by his quiet thoughts. _Is Bella alright son_ , he 'asked' me.

"She's seems to be doing okay," I told him. "A lot better than expected considering the last few days."

"She's a resilient girl; just further proof that she was always meant to be a part of this family," He responded out loud with a raised eyebrow.

"I know, I know," I sighed. "It's going to take me a while to fix this with everyone, but I just hope you'll all be patient with me."

"So you truly do want to change her?" Carlisle asked me.

"I do," I admitted out loud. "I think a small part of me always wanted that, but the majority was trying to rule that out because I never thought she should have to succumb to this life for me."

"If any of us could go back to being human for the sake of their mate, we would all try son," Carlisle responded. "We understand what you're going through a lot more than you think."

"You know how much I wish Emmett and I could be surrounded by our great-grandchildren by now," Rose added in from the doorway. "Don't get me wrong, just a lifetime will never feel like it's enough; but there are still times I wish we could've grown old together."

"Do you think I'm doing the right thing?" I asked my sister.

"I can't say what's right or wrong," Rose replied with a shrug of her shoulders. "All I know is, if you truly believe that Bella's your One- it's the logical choice."

"I just hate feeling like I'm taking away any type of real life away from her," I admitted.

"We're not saying it has to be tonight, Edward," Rose reassured me. "For all we know, the Volturi could even take a decade to even check up on us- unless Victoria screws up our timeline," she added with a growl.

Rose regained her composure and started again. "What I'm trying to say is: you and Bella need to get to know each other again. Take her out on dates, get a chance to experience life through her eyes; that way she still has some pleasant memories before she's turned and you do too."

With that, Rose excused herself to go make sure that Bella was okay. "Are you alright, Edward?" Carlisle asked.

"I'm alright," I responded. "It's just a lot to process over a few days, even for us."

"I know it is," Carlisle began. "Edward, I've rarely worried about your decision making because you were usually able to keep in control, even if I didn't always agree."

"Did you agree with me not letting the venom spread after James bit her?" I asked my father.

"It was your choice, but why didn't you let it spread if you're having second thoughts about it now?" Carlisle asked me.

"I guess the more possessive part of me wanted it to be my venom in her veins," I confessed. "In hindsight, it could have saved us a few problems."

"It could have also caused new ones," Carlisle countered. "The treaty would have broken and we wouldn't have been at fault; Charlie and Renee would have been grieving for her and even though she told you it was what she wanted, I don't think Bella understood the gravity of the situation as much as she does now," he continued.

"I think I understand how she feels now," I told my father. "Becoming like us isn't fully her choice anymore; I shouldn't have ignored how she felt. It caused us all such unnecessary stress and pain."

"I've known Aro for quite some time, Edward," Carlisle told me. "Even if everything hadn't happened the way it did, in some way the Volturi would have known about us- Victoria could have even went to him if she weren't so hell-bent on getting revenge on us herself."

"All I'm saying to you son is that things happen for a reason," Carlisle continued. "Maybe the two of you actually needed this separation to grow as individuals so that you could become stronger together."

He asked if I wanted to start talking about our plans to move, but I didn't want to do that without Bella; I had made too many decisions without her knowing and I wanted to be open with her from now on. With that in mind, I went back up to my room where Rosalie was sitting and keeping an eye on Bella.

"It is pretty interesting to watch her sleep," Rose commented. I laughed quietly to myself.

"It's the only time that I can even get a peek inside her mind," I admitted. "It's also incredibly peaceful."

"I'm sure hearing the rest of us could be…uncomfortable," Rose winced. "I think I miss having that ability to just tune out the world for a few hours."

"I do too," I told my sister. "Having the ability to dream, to fantasize a different life…" I trailed off.

"That's the thing about living forever: you get to actually try different dreams that you had and live those different lives," Rose responded. "But if you don't have someone to share that with, it's a hollow feeling."

"She dreams about you a lot," Rose mentioned.

"If I could I would dream about her too," I admitted. "Did she say anything out of the ordinary?"

Rose shook her head and said, "She's just been murmuring your name." She stood up and patted me on the shoulder.

"I finally get it now; why you've been so desperate to protect her," Rose told me. I must have looked at her in confusion because she responded, "I don't think I wanted to believe she was your mate; that she could feel as deeply for you as you do for her. I wanted to dismiss her as just another human who was getting too curious."

"I'm sorry that it took me so long to realize what you were all saying: that Bella was always meant to be a part of our family," she concluded.

"I'm sorry about giving you a hard time about it; I know that you just wanted to protect our family and I would never want to cause any of you harm. I just fell in love with a girl that shouldn't be with me but wants to be anyway," I told her.

"So, we're okay?" Rose asked. I gave her a hug and responded that we were. With that, she left out to set up the next watch with Alice and Carlisle.

I sat next to Bella in bed and she quietly whispered my name again. "Edward," she said. "Promise you won't leave again."

I kissed her on the forehead gently so that I wouldn't wake her and told her, "I couldn't if I wanted to and believe me I don't."

My voice must have made it to her subconscious because she smiled in her sleep and was peaceful the rest of the night.

 **Again, thank you guys for being patient! I hope the new year is starting off well for all of you and thank you to all the new followers and everyone who put either the story or me on alert, I really appreciate it 3**

 **Until the next time!**

 **xoxo**


	19. Chapter 19

**A/N: Woo-hoo! I got another chapter in before the month was up :D It probably could have been up sooner, but the New Edition story was on and I had my priorities straight! LOL, I kid, but really if you're a fan of 80's boy bands or interested in behind the scenes drama within the music industy-plz check that out!**

 **I don't own _Twilight_ , ****I just like infusing additional drama here and there!**

" _You're not asleep, and you're not dead. I'm here, and I love you. I have always loved you, and I will always love you. I was thinking of you, seeing your face in my mind, every second that I was away. When I told you that I didn't want you, it was the very blackest kind of blasphemy."_ _  
_ _―_ _ **Stephenie Meyer**_ _,_ _ **New Moon**_

 **BPOV**

"Love, it's time to wake up," I heard Edward croon to me in my dream. I was too comfortable and I didn't want my dream to end. I grumbled and turn to cozy up to my pillow, except my pillow was a bit harder than it should have been. As I felt it, I heard it laugh.

I cracked one of my eyes open and saw Edward fully dressed lying next to me; that fully woke me up as I remembered everything that happened within the last 10 days was a reality. Edward had come back to Forks after Alice and I found him in Volterra, the Volturi basically demanding that I be turned into a Vampire; Victoria was still out there creating an army; we fought and made up, now we're trying to figure out where we stand as a couple.

"Hi," I said brilliantly after a minute.

"I see you still get adorably confused when you wake up," he responded with a smile.

"It's just taking a little getting used to again," I admitted to him. "I thought I was dreaming."

Edward looked at me with a serious expression on his face. I knew he was about to apologize again, but I had to stop him.

"Edward, I know that you're sorry about what happened," I began. "It's just I had been sleepwalking for nearly four months before Jacob and I started to hang out. I'm just trying to remind myself that this is real again," I concluded.

"Love, look at me," Edward gently commanded. I tilted my head up to his to look him in the eye; they were slightly darker- I knew between the stress with Victoria and trying to gain my trust back, he wasn't taking care of himself as well as he should.

"I can promise you this," he said strongly. _"You're not asleep, and you're not dead. I'm here, and I love you. I have always loved you, and I will always love you. I was thinking of you, seeing your face in my mind, every second that I was away. When I told you that I didn't want you, it was the very blackest kind of blasphemy."_

"I know that I have a lot of work to do in order to gain your trust back, but I will every second that we're together and even when we're not," he promised.

"Just let them be small gestures," I pleaded. "Nothing like buying me a car outright, or trying to pay my college tuition," I said with a raised eyebrow.

"So things like sending you a bouquet or writing you a love letter," Edward responded.

"Yes, things like that are okay," I answered with a smile. "And also, taking care of yourself," I added as I rubbed the darkening rings under his eye.

At that point, there was a knock at his door. "Come in girls," he responded with a sigh. Rose and Alice walked in after that.

"We've been trying to tell him that Bella, but he's been a little paranoid to leave your side," Alice said with a roll of her eyes.

"Seriously, we can make sure she eats something before she gets to school," Rose offered. "Emmett said he's missed getting to spend time with you and he'd gladly go with you while Bella gets ready for school."

Edward looked at me to make sure that I would be okay.

"It's not like you're going too far, right?" I asked him. He shook his head no. "The girls are right; I'll be okay for a little bit. You need to keep your strength up," I told him.

"I won't be gone long, I promise," Edward said trying to reassure the both of us. He kissed me on the temple and hopped out of the window that Emmett was yelling to him from.

"Alright, grab your stuff and we'll head down to mine and Jazz's room," Alice told me. I did as I was told and once I was in the room, Alice immediately directed me to her bathroom for me to shower and brush my teeth.

After my few human moments, I came out the bathroom to see the outfit that Alice had picked. It was a gorgeous brown leather bomber jacket, a light blue button down, dark wash skinny jeans, and a pair of matching knee-high brown leather riding boots.

"And I bet you were worried about what I had picked," Alice said with a smug look on her face.

"Maybe not the outfit itself, but you would have killed or at least seriously injured yourself with the shoes she tried to put you in originally," Rose replied.

"How high were the heels?" I asked nervously.

"They weren't that bad," Alice said with a roll of her eyes.

"Sure to you and me they're fine," Rose responded. "But to Bella, five inch heels are a death trap."

"FIVE inches?" I shrieked. "Jeez, Alice couldn't you have at least started at one-and-a-half?"

"Where's the fun in that?" Alice scoffed. "Anyway, it's not a complete waste; I found something that I could wear with the boots that I originally picked for you."

I noticed Alice was wearing an off the shoulder ivory cashmere sweater with a beige suede mini skirt and her sweater was belted in the middle with a wide brown leather belt; the death trap boots in question on her feet.

"I think they go better with your look anyway," I joked with her.

"Just you wait, Bella Swan: the minute your coordination is better-I'll have you strutting around in heels this high in no time," Alice told me.

"Until then, I will do my best to protect you," Rose promised with a slight curtsy.

I had to laugh at that and grabbed the clothes to get dressed in the bathroom. Once I was out, Alice sat me at her vanity to do my makeup; while she did that, Rose dried and styled my hair. Once Alice was done, I had a neutral smoky eye that was fit for daytime and my lips were a bit pinker than normal. Rose had styled my hair in a high ponytail with a couple of tendrils framing my face.

"See, sometimes playing Bella Barbie is fun," Alice nudged me out of my admiration.

I rolled my eyes and playfully teased, "While you guys can run on blood, the human still needs to eat."

The three of us went downstairs where Esme had a bowl of fresh berries, orange juice, bacon, and an omelet waiting for me.

"Good morning sweetheart," she greeted me. "Did you sleep alright?"

"I did," I responded. "Thank you for breakfast. Also I'm sorry you guys had to spend the night keeping watch," I added.

"Neither breakfast nor looking out for you was any trouble," Esme waved me off. "Go ahead and eat before it gets cold."

I dug in since I didn't eat much the night before. Rose and I chatted about how school was going for me, while Alice asked Esme about some of the decorations we could use for prom.

As I was finishing up, Emmett and Edward came in the house laughing and joking around. I like seeing this side of him; it didn't come out enough.

"Hey Bells," Emmett greeted me with a kiss on the cheek. "You look pretty today."

"Thanks, Em," I blushed.

"He's not really doing you justice, love," Edward said sitting next to me. "You look beautiful."

"Thank you," I said and gave him a kiss on the cheek.

"Well, all this sweetness is making me miss my monkey man," Rose said excusing herself from the counter. "Have a good day at school you guys!"

"I have a strong feeling we should be headed out now," Jasper said as he entered the kitchen.

"I think I'll go visit your father," Esme said suddenly.

"We'll drop you off," Edward offered. We all got into Edward's Volvo and drove to the hospital to drop Esme off as he said. Of course with Edward's lead foot, we were still on time for school.

The day went surprisingly smooth: I passed my pop quiz in Spanish, we got to work in pairs during Calculus, I went to see Gisele and let her know how Edward and I were starting to progress in the right direction but we were still trying to take things slower; in response, she told me she was glad to see us acting so maturely and to keep her in the loop.

We kept working on prom plans during lunch and this time, Edward joined us. The movie day continued in English class and Edward held my hand the entire time. Even gym couldn't break me of my good mood. Edward, Jasper, and Alice were waiting for me by the Volvo; they all smiled but it didn't fully reach their eyes.

"What's going on?" I asked.

"We've got to head to the hospital," Edward told me. "Your father is meeting us there."

"Is he okay?" I questioned.

"He's fine," Alice reassured me. "He just really wants to see you; the case is really messing with him."

We rode to the hospital in silence; I looked at the lush greens as we passed by and I could have sworn I saw a flash of red as we neared the hospital.

Charlie's cruiser was already in the parking lot when we pulled in. The four of us got out the car and went in to the hospital where Carlisle and Charlie were having a conversation in hushed tones.

"Hi kids, how was school?" Carlisle said shifting attention to us. Charlie looked surprised to see me a bit more polished than usual.

"You look really nice, kid," Charlie greeted me.

"Thanks dad," I responded.

"Alice, Jasper," He greeted with a smile. Charlie looked Edward up and down with a neutral expression on his face.

"Edward," he said in a bored tone. The three of them greeted my father and he turned his attention back on me.

"Ready to head home, Bells?" Charlie asked me. I nodded and we prepared to leave out when Carlisle stopped us.

"If you're feeling up to it, can we still expect you and Bella for dinner tomorrow Charlie?" he asked.

"Yeah, if I rest up enough the rest of tonight and tomorrow," my dad replied. "I'd hate to be rude and turn down your invitation."

"It wouldn't be any trouble," Carlisle assured him. "Get some rest, Charlie."

"I'll see you guys tomorrow," I turned to say goodbye to the Cullens.

We rode home in silence; I figured my dad had been awake for over 12 hours, so he wouldn't be up for much conversation. Once we got in the house, I warmed up one of the casseroles that Sue Clearwater sent over for us and worked on my homework. Charlie sat in his recliner and fell asleep almost as soon as sat down. I woke him up once the casserole was heated all the way through and we ate dinner in the same matter. This was making me nervous; he hasn't been this silent since September-okay that was partially on me. I realized the case was probably making him tense and stressing him, I just didn't want him to internalize it.

Shortly after dinner, Charlie told me he was going to bed. While I was cleaning up the kitchen, I got a text message from Edward.

 _Is it okay for me to come see you? –E_

 _ **You're fine. Charlie just went up to bed, come 2 back door- B**_

 _Okay, see you soon love- E_

I finished up my homework and Edward sent me another text to let me know he was outside. I opened the door and he wasn't alone.

"Jake, what are you doing here?" I asked surprised.

"Edward asked me to come, safety in numbers and all that," Jake said. The two of them came in and sat at my kitchen table.

"You forgot to check your mailbox when you came in," Edward said putting the collection of envelopes on the kitchen table.

I sat at the table with the two of them. I knew the situation was bad, but the two of them being so quiet was really beginning to scare me.

"Will one of you please tell me what's going on?" I pleaded.

"Edward was telling me about the conversation that Charlie and Carlisle had at the hospital," Jake told me. "I told him that he really needed to tell you too because this involves you."

"Tell me what?" I asked.

"Charlie found a witness in Seattle that Victoria actually left alive," Edward told me. "It took them all night to coax him out of where he was hiding and he would only go to the hospital here in Forks."

"That makes no sense," I said. "Seattle is better staffed and he was right there; why would he risk any health issue to come to Forks?"

"There's more to the story, Bells," Jake said and nodded to Edward to continue.

"When he did get here, he saw my father and attempted to attack him," Edward said shaking his head. "Charlie and his deputies had to restrain him in order for the nurses to check him out. Once he had been sedated and restrained, my father went to examine him again."

"When he did, the man asked about you," Edward said as he looked at me with a worried expression.

"Why would he ask about me?" I asked. My palms were beginning to sweat and my heart felt as if it would leap into my throat at any second.

"He had a message," Jake said. "It was mainly directed at you, but it was a challenge to the rest of us."

"What did he say?" I asked firmly.

"He told Carlilse, 'tell the girl, she's coming for her'," Edward answered.

 **I told you: something dramatic this way comes... I even made that sound WAY more dramatic than I needed to! Come on, I couldn't avoid Victoria forever (and neither can our two lovebirds).**

 **Thank you guys for reading, reviewing, favoriting and following! Until the next time...**

 **xoxo**


	20. Chapter 20

**A/N: Hey everybody, I was hoping to have this as a Valentine's day surprise-because I love you all so much ;)**

 **Unfortunately, I got a little writers block, but I at least have this in the same week! Hopefully, I'll be back with Chapter 21 a little sooner!**

 **I don't own _Twilight_ and I'm starting to run out of ideas for these disclaimers...**

" _Will you be?" I asked, suddenly anxious. "Will you really be here?"_

 _"As long as you want me," he assured me._ _  
_ _"I'll always want you," I warned him. "Forever."_ _  
_ _―_ _ **Stephenie Meyer**_ _,_ _ **Twilight**_

 **EPOV**

Bella stood near the counter in order to hold herself upright. "She's-she's coming for me?" Bella breathed out.

"Bells, you know we're going to do everything we can to protect you," Jacob tried to reassure her.

"What if you can't, Jake?" she asked him. "What if she hurts Seth or Esme? What if she comes after either one of you?" Her voice was reaching a hysterical pitch and I worried she would wake Charlie.

"Love, you have to breathe," I said holding her by the shoulders. She did exactly that, figuring Charlie would wake up if her voice got any louder. "Like Jacob said, between the pack and our family- she won't get near you. Leaving that victim alive was her way of letting us know that she's not done just yet."

"What about these Volturi?" Jacob asked me. "If they're supposed to be all powerful or whatever, why aren't they taking care of this?"

"If it were a normal situation, they would have," I began to explain. "But I think there's more to the story this time."

"What do you mean?" Bella and Jacob asked simultaneously.

"I have no doubt that the Volturi know about the situation," I told them. "Hell, I wouldn't be surprised if they've already warned Victoria that her actions have been less than conspicuous."

"Then why wouldn't they stop her?" Bella asked.

"The Volturi look at our family as a threat," I told them. "Because of our lifestyle, we are better able to blend in with society. We can also build actual bonds of love, instead of being bound together by bloodlust and power."

"But why would that bother them so much?" Jacob asked. "It's not like you guys are trying to become the new leaders of your kind, right?"

"No, we're not," I assured Jake. "However, since we have three talented members of our family, we're close to another coven in Denali, and we have friends all over the globe- they could assume that we would want that."

"So let me get this straight," Jacob said trying to process all the information that I was giving him. "Not only could they probably already know what this red-headed bitch is doing, they might be trying to help her-because it could get rid of a potential threat by killing all of you off?"

"That's the gist of it," I sighed.

"Shit," Jacob swore softly. "That's really messed up."

"I know Alice told you about the two missing students from Forks, but did she tell you the rest of my theory?" Bella asked me.

"What theory?" Jacob and I asked.

"What if Victoria is creating some sort of army?" She explained. "I mean, she knows about the wolves now because of what happened to Laurent and she knows she would need more numbers to protect her from the rest of the Cullens while trying to get the two of us alone."

"That would explain a lot," Jacob responded. "Especially if these Volturi don't want to get their own hands dirty trying to get rid of you guys."

"Jacob, do you think you could get the pack to meet with us around midnight tomorrow?" I asked him.

"Probably," Jacob answered in a confused tone. "What does that have to do with the possibility of an army of leeches coming to Forks?" He asked in the same tone.

"Let's just say you'll be able to get some insight on the situation from a valuable source," I explained. I didn't want to share Jasper's experience this soon, but after Bella's insight- we'll need all the knowledge we could get.

"I'll talk to them while we're on patrol tonight," Jacob responded and looked at the clock in the kitchen. "Which I happen to be late for. I'll see you guys later," He added as he walked towards the back door.

Once we were alone, Bella sat at her kitchen table and placed her head in her hands looking so much older than her eighteen years. I pulled a chair next to her and tried to comfort her as best as I could.

"What are we going to do?" she sighed.

"Alice is doing the best she can to see what she's planning, but she hasn't done anything concrete yet," I told her. "Until then, we're going to do everything we can to protect you. _I_ am going to do everything I can to protect you," I promised her.

Bella solemnly nodded her head and stood up. "I'm going up to bed," she told me. I was prepared to give her space, but she held out her hand. I knew my girl was trying to be brave, but I was glad she wasn't trying to do it by herself.

Together, we quietly walked up to her bedroom. She grabbed her pajamas and excused herself for a couple human moments in the bathroom. While I was alone, I looked for the gifts that I had hidden from her when I left. I wanted to get rid of any reminders of myself for her- a stupid, selfish decision.

 _She's forgiven you_ , I thought to myself. _Stop dwelling in the past and keep moving to protect your future._

After I had gathered everything from under her floorboard, I put it back in place and sat on her bed just as she was coming back into the room. I hated seeing her look so fragile, so I held my arms open and she came to sit on my lap. It had been a long time since we had shared an embrace this close and I felt the familiar twinge in my throat. I don't think it would ever fully go away until Bella became a true member of our family, but it wasn't as unbearable as before- thinking I had lost her forever would do that.

"What's that sitting next to you?" she asked me quietly after a few minutes.

"They're mementos from your birthday," I told her. "I had them hidden under one of your floorboards."

"You mean they've been here this whole time?" She said with a bit more life in her voice.

I nodded my head, expecting a verbal lashing but instead receiving a tight hug from Bella.

"Thank you," she whispered. She then began to look through the items she thought I had gotten rid of: a CD with her lullaby, the photo Alice had taken of the two of us, the boarding passes to Florida from Carlisle and Esme.

"These are going to expire soon," Bella said sadly.

"Well, they're good that week of spring break," I told her looking at the date along with her. "Why don't you go visit your mom then?"

"I guess Charlie can't be mad if I'm visiting my mom, especially if Victoria is still lurking around," she reasoned.

"He won't argue about you staying safe," I assured her. She got up and put everything on her dresser, and moved back to the bed so she could get under the covers. Once she was all tucked in, I laid next to her and she fell asleep almost immediately. I softly stroked her cheek, silently thanking whatever deity would let this girl bring me back into her life.

 **BPOV**

I woke up the next morning with a note on my pillow:

 _My Dearest Bella,_

 _As you have asked of me, I am starting small with my declarations of love and leaving but a simple note._

 _I hated to leave you, but I had to return home to change and get my car. Alice says Charlie may be a bit resistant at first, but he will let me take you to school. I just have a lot of groveling to do, as she put it._

 _For you, it's worth it. Always._

 _With all my love, Edward_

 _P.S.-Be sure you read your mail before you leave out this morning. There was some good news in there I assume._

 _My sentimental Vampire,_ I sleepily thought to myself as I smiled at the note. I got up, went to get dressed and made it downstairs to see Charlie making himself a cup of coffee.

"Morning," I greeted him.

"Morning, Bells," he replied through a yawn.

"Still didn't sleep well?" I asked him.

"The opposite actually," Charlie responded. "I don't think I've slept that long in I don't know when."

"I'm glad you got some sleep," I said grabbing some cereal and bowls for us. "This case has been running you into the ground."

"Well, I'll feel better when I find out where these kids are or at least be able to give closure to their families," Charlie said sadly.

He sat at the table with his cup while I filled some bowls with cereal and milk. He noticed that I had placed the bowl in front of him and looked at the pile of envelopes from yesterday.

"I don't remember grabbing the mail yesterday," he said in a confused tone.

"I grabbed it after you went upstairs," I told him. I looked at the pile for the first time myself seeing two big envelopes and a regular letter. I turned them over and saw that they were from colleges: U Dub, Dartmouth, and the University of New Hampshire.

Charlie must have noticed too because he looked at me with a huge grin on his face and said, "Come on kid, don't keep your old man waiting."

I opened the regular envelope from Dartmouth first, expecting a rejection but being pleasantly surprised.

"I got waitlisted at Dartmouth," I said in a surprised tone.

"That's an Ivy League college, right?" Charlie asked in an excited tone.

"Yeah, it is," I responded with a smile on my face. _Go figure my studying would actually pay off_ , I thought to myself.

I looked at the other big envelopes that had the logos for the University of Washington and the University of New Hampshire.

"Now, if a smaller envelope means you've been waitlisted, what do the larger ones mean?" Charlie asked.

"How about you open one and I'll open the other one," I told him. He grabbed the U Dub envelope while I grabbed New Hampshire.

"You're in!" Charlie exclaimed looking at my letter.

"I got in New Hampshire too, and they were so impressed with my essay-I got a scholarship too!" I exclaimed.

We hugged each other tightly. "I'm so proud of you, kid," he whispered and kissed me on the temple.

"Thanks dad," I said. Letting our excitement die down a bit, we went to eat our cereal before it became any soggier.

"So, do you know anyone else's college plans yet?" Charlie asked grabbing our bowls and placed them in the sink.

"Honestly, I wasn't expecting to hear back so soon," I confessed to him. I sent in my applications shortly after I promised Charlie I would try to pull it together in January, not really expecting to get in anywhere-much less get waitlisted in one school and accepted in to two.

At that point, there was a knock at the front door. "I'll get it," I told Charlie. I peeked to make sure it was safe and saw Alice and Edward standing on the porch.

"Hey you two," I smiled.

Alice reached up and gave me a big hug. "Congratulations!" she whispered excitedly in my ear.

"Thanks," I whispered back.

"Hey, Chief," she greeted my father.

"Morning, Alice," my father greeted her. "Edward," he said with a stern nod.

"Good morning, Chief Swan," Edward responded.

"Mind if I talk to you outside, son?" Charlie asked, while walking to the front door-he wasn't giving Edward a chance to say no. Edward followed behind him with a wink in my direction.

"It'll be fine," Alice reassured me. "Now I've got a few minutes to add a little more life to your face!"

I rolled my eyes as Alice dragged me back upstairs.

 **EPOV**

 _He's brave for showing up here, I'll give him that,_ Charlie thought as I followed him out to the front porch.

"So, Edward-besides risking my badge, give me a good reason why I'm not trying to chase you off my property with a gun right now?" Charlie asked me point blank.

"I honestly don't think I could, sir," I admitted to him. "I broke your daughter's heart, which left her near catatonic for months I found out. When we broke up, I was unnecessarily cold in the way that I handled things; for that, I'm truly sorry."

"You could have reached out to her," Charlie said with a grim expression on his face. "All she wanted to do was hear from you. It wasn't just a break-up to her, it was like someone had died," he told me.

"I know," I told him. "She told me, and my sisters told me what she was going through before we started speaking again."

"Your sisters are sweet girls," Charlie said with a small smile on his face. "They're really been there for Bells since all of you have been back."

"I'd be really lost without them," I acknowledged. "My brothers too; they've probably beaten some sense into me as Emmett would put it," I said.

"Now tell me this: why should I trust you to be anywhere near my daughter?" Charlie said, back in chief of police mode.

"Because I refuse to make the same mistake twice," I told him. "My family can admit that I was just as messed up behind our breakup. I was just too afraid to reach out to her, so we sat in this strange limbo."

"I'll never be able to apologize to you or her enough, but I hope to earn her trust back and gain yours as well," I concluded.

 _Damn, the kid's good,_ Charlie thought to himself. _If Bella's really like me, she'll be stubborn enough to try and make this work. I can't keep them apart; if I don't want to lose her, I'll have to learn to accept him eventually._

"If I hear that you broke my daughter's heart again, I will hunt you down to the ends of the Earth," Charlie said to me.

"I wouldn't expect any less, sir," I responded with a nod. Alice chose to let her presence be known then.

"Is it safe for us to come out?" she joked.

"Yeah, I wouldn't want you kids to be late," Charlie responded after looking at his watch. "If you get a chance, let your mother know I will be joining you for dinner."

"Absolutely!" Alice beamed. "And knowing my mother, she'll tell you not to bring anything."

Bella came out at that point with my sister adding her polish as she would call it; thankfully it was simply defining her beautiful features.

"Everything okay?" she asked cautiously, looking back and forth between her father and me.

"Everything's fine, Bells," Charlie responded with a smile. He gave her a kiss on the forehead and sent us on our way. "You kids drive carefully," he told us.

We got into my Volvo and pulled off. "So was I right?" I asked Bella. "Was there good news waiting for you this morning?"

"Yeah, I got in to U Dub and the University of New Hampshire," she announced. "And I got waitlisted at Dartmouth- and no, there doesn't need to be an anonymous 'donation' from the Cullens to get me in," she warned.

"Bella, that's still amazing!" Alice added excitedly. "Besides, if you go to UNH- it would be way easier for you to transfer into Dartmouth when a spot opens up."

"But what if I end up actually liking UNH and decide not to transfer to Dartmouth?" Bella asked.

"Why wouldn't you transfer?" Alice scoffed. "Don't get me wrong-UNH is a great school, but it's no Dartmouth."

"I think wherever Bella believes she'll thrive the best is where she needs to be," I responded to my sister. With that, Bella shot me a grateful look and mouthed a 'thank you' to me.

"I just don't get why you would even apply to Dartmouth if you didn't want to go," Alice said picking at her nails.

"I think I just wanted to prove to myself that I was good enough to get in," Bella responded quietly. I knew she could get in; she didn't think she was good enough at the point she applied. I took a hand away from the steering wheel and held hers in apology. She squeezed mine back in acceptance.

We pulled into the parking lot shortly after that conversation and met up with Jasper who was sitting by Rose's BMW.

"Everything go alright with Charlie, brother?" he asked me.

"I think we're coming to an understanding," I told him with a smile.

"Also congratulations to you Miss Bella," Jasper added.

"Thanks Jasper," Bella said with a smile. Just then, Angela and Jessica rushed up to us.

"Hi guys!" Jessica said with more enthusiasm than normal.

"Where's the fire?" Alice joked.

"Sorry, but we have some great news!" Angela piped up. "You go first, Jess."

"I got into NYU on a full ride!" Jessica squealed.

"Jess, that's amazing! Congratulations," Bella exclaimed and hugged Jessica.

"What about you, Angela?" I asked.

"I got into Columbia on a presidential scholarship," she said happily.

"That's awesome, Angela!" Alice declared. "Congratulations!"

"So how about you guys?" Jessica asked.

"Alice and I are going to the New Hampshire Institute of Art," Jasper answered.

"I got into Dartmouth," I added.

"I got waitlisted at Dartmouth, but I got in the University of New Hampshire on a Presidential scholarship," Bella replied.

"Dartmouth? Well aren't you two fancy," Jessica said in a joking tone. "Seriously, that's awesome guys! Congratulations!"

"And we'll all be a few hours away," Angela added. "Maybe you guys can come hang out with us in New York or we can come to New Hampshire sometimes."

"That sounds like fun!" Alice said excitedly, already thinking about the girls' trips they could take.

"So, Jess," Bella started. "Excited about your big date tomorrow?"

Jessica then went into how she and Jacob had been talking for the past few days, that he was trying to surprise her, how nervous she was-especially since there was a very strong chance that she was moving to New York after graduation.

We went to our individual classes, met back up during lunch to talk more about plans for prom-including the girls going dress shopping soon. After that, Bella and I went to English for that last day we would be viewing Macbeth and held hands through the movie again.

I know Victoria was out there plotting her next move; with Alice being partially blinded due to both the wolves and Victoria's gift of evasion, it was hard to see what was coming next. However, in this small moment- just for a second I could pretend to be a regular seventeen year old with the girl he loves.

 **So, I've decided from now on in these ending A/N's, I'm going to start doing shout outs to new followers: Thank you to Jiinxie, ashsum, kittylove2000, A Thousand Undiscovered Stars (I love that name btw), halestorm92, Edward's Stupid Lamb, jeangary28, Dirby, and shaushka for following and/or favoriting the story between posts :)**

 **Also thank you to jansails, traceybuie, and Coffeefilterart for being constant reviewers! All of you guys have been such a motivation for me to write and I appreciate every little notification that I get :)**

 **Until the next time, xoxo**


	21. Chapter 21

**A/N: Hey everyone! Sorry for the delay, but I was working on another project along with this chapter. Hopefully, I can get on a slightly more stable schedule again!**

 **I don't own _Twilight_ , and my bank account definitely reflects this!**

" _It must be a hard thing, to be a father; living in fear that your daughter would meet a boy she liked, but also having to worry if she didn't."_ _  
_ _―_ _ **Stephenie Meyer**_ _,_ _ **Twilight**_

 **BPOV**

After everything that's been going on for the last few months, it was nice to have a day where I just got to be a regular 18 year old: finding out where your friends are going after graduation, holding hands with the guy you have feelings for during class, and after school- working on the yearbook.

"So?" Angela asked as we worked side by side.

"So what, Ang?" I responded.

"Come on, you and Edward," she asked. "You both seem to be making lovey eyes at each other again and you both are going to be in the same city again for college; that doesn't seem like a coincidence."

"So, what are you asking?" I questioned.

"Are you two back together or not?" She asked bouncing up and down in her seat like Alice.

"We're…we're working on it," I answered honestly.

Alice would have been proud of the way Angela sat in her seat and clapped. "Yeah, I think we have to limit you time with Alice," I joked.

"No, I love Alice," she jokingly whined. The two of us shared a laugh and got back to work after that. We walked out together with Jasper where Edward was waiting for us and also making sure that Victoria wasn't lurking in the area.

"Have a good weekend, guys!" Angela called from her car window. We waved her off and got in the car so Edward could drop me off at home. Just as we were near the house, I got a phone call from Charlie.

"Hey dad," I answered my phone.

"Hey Bells, where are you right now?" Charlie asked.

"Edward was dropping me off at home; I stayed afterschool for yearbook today," I told him.

"Oh, I though you would have been on your way to the Cullens' house right now," Charlie said in a surprised tone. "I just wanted to make sure you were okay."

"Yeah, I'm fine," I replied in a confused tone. "Are you okay, Dad?"

"Yeah, yeah I'm fine," he responded. "Can you ask Edward to bring you home with him?"

"Sure," I answered as Edward turned the car around with a neutral expression on his face. "Are you sure everything's okay?"

"I promise everything's okay, kid," Charlie reassured me. "I just figured you could save a trip home."

"Okay, I'll see you when you get there then," I said.

"See you later, Bells," he said, ending the call.

"Well, that was weird," I said in a puzzled tone.

"Maybe your father just felt you would be safer with all of us than at home by yourself," Edward tried to assure me.

"Maybe," I agreed. "Too bad you two can't read thoughts or emotions over the phone."

"Damn, we could make a killing that way," Jasper teased. The three of us shared a laugh at that and before I knew it, we were at the Cullen house where Charlie, Carlisle and Esme was already standing outside- along with a new Toyota Camry.

"Hey, Dad," I greeted him in a confused tone. "What's going on?'

"Your father took the day off," Carlisle informed me. "When I asked him to come to the hospital a few days ago, it was to discuss another present that we wanted to get you for your birthday."

"We know how much you love your truck, but especially for school we all wanted you to be in something a bit more reliable," Esme added.

"We also had to come to a bit of a compromise," Charlie said. "Since I know you were saving up for school too, I figured I could take a little bit of what I had saved up and put it towards a decent used car for you. The Cullens wanted to do something a bit fancier, but I knew that would make you feel uncomfortable, so..." he trailed off.

"So this is for me?" I pointed to the shiny new vehicle in the driveway.

Carlisle and Esme laughed, while Charlie nodded and said, "She's all yours, Bells."

I had a feeling Alice and Emmett would tease me mercilessly for the display I had outside, but I couldn't help it- I had a fully loaded and functioning car!

"Thank you, thank you, thank you!" I chanted as I gave all my parental figures a hug.

"You're most welcome, Bella," Carlisle said as he hugged me. "Now, shall we get cleaned up for dinner?"

"Dinner was delicious, Esme," Charlie said sitting back in his chair.

"I'm glad you enjoyed it, Charlie," Esme responded with a smile.

Dinner had thankfully gone on without a hitch- Rose and Alice kept the conversation going, Jasper kept everyone calm, Emmett…was Emmett, and thankfully, whatever conversation Edward and Charlie had this morning didn't make things awkward; it actually seemed like Charlie maybe warming up to Edward a bit.

Charlie looked at his watch and got up from the table. "Well, I hate to eat and run, but I have to head into the station for a little bit anyway," he said.

"Everything okay?" I asked.

"Yeah, I just have some paperwork about the case that I'd rather fill out tonight so we can actually have the day together tomorrow," Charlie told me. "Thank you for dinner tonight," he said to the Cullens.

"It really wasn't any trouble," Esme waved him off. "Feel free to come by anytime."

"Thanks," he responded and gave me a kiss on the forehead. "I might be there for a while, so if you make it home before me-have everything locked up and be careful," he told me.

"I will," I promised. "You be careful too."

"Always am," he said. "Have a good night everyone," he said to the Cullens. A chorus of good-byes followed after him.

Alice's phone sounded with a text message shortly after Charlie left. "It's Jake," she announced. "He wants to know if they should still come around midnight."

"Let him know anytime is fine, Alice," Carlisle said. "Bella, if you're ready to head home, we can have one of the boys check to make sure everything's safe."

"Honestly, Carlisle, I feel much safer here," I admitted to him.

"Plus, Bella should know what's going as well," Edward added. "This affects her just as much, if not more than us."

"Glad that brain of his is being put to good use again," Rose teased, causing a laugh from his siblings.

About a half-hour later, we heard a howl come from outside. "Guess we've got company," Emmett said getting up from his game.

We walked outside just as the pack came out from the trees after phasing back into human form. Sam and Paul stepped up first, leaving the pack a few paces behind.

"Welcome back gentlemen," Carlisle greeted them. "Leah," he acknowledged with a smile.

"Carlisle," Sam acknowledged. "Paul and I owe Bella and your family an apology," He stated.

"Even though it feels like it goes against everything we believe in, we want to make sure Bella's protected," Paul added. "We're sorry we didn't hear you out before."

"Apology accepted," Carlisle said with a small smile. "Hopefully, we'll all be able to move forward peacefully in the future."

Jake to his place next to Sam. "So, is everyone filled in with what could be going on or were we waiting to do it in one shot?" he asked.

"It's better that everyone hear this at once," Edward said. He gave me a slight nudge to share my theory.

"So we already know that the two people who have gone missing are from Forks," I started. "But I have a strange feeling in my gut that it's not just the two of them, but an army she's trying to build."

Jasper got a strange look on his face while the wolves seemed surprised. "Why the hell would she send a whole army after you?" Jared asked.

"The army is meant to distract us," Jasper said. "There's a strong chance that Victoria doesn't know about you since you got rid of the only other companion she had."

"Have you been able to see anything, Alice?" Seth asked.

"What do you mean 'see'?" Quil asked Seth. "Are you psychic or something?" he asked Alice.

"I am," she admitted. "However, between all of you and Victoria not setting anything concrete yet, I can't get a good read on her."

"So she could get the drop on us at any time," Embry said in a worried tone.

"She may be evasive, but when she wants to make herself known she will," Rose assured him.

"Which may give us enough time to train," Jasper thought out loud.

"What do you mean train?" Paul asked. "How hard is it to take down a bunch of vampires?"

"A lot more difficult when they're in the newborn stage," Jasper explained. "Their strength is unparalleled because their own blood still lingers in their tissue; however, this is also the point where they're the most unpredictable."

"So how are we supposed to kill them?" Leah asked.

"Before I came to live with the Cullens, I was a Major for the Confederate army," Jasper began. "A young woman named Maria found me one night and turned me; because of my charisma when I was human, it translated as my becoming an Empath when I was turned."

"I could settle the emotions of the other newborns and train them. Maria wanted to have the largest army in the south; eventually all the pain and suffering got to be too much for me and I left. Eventually I found Alice," He paused to smile at her. "She saw a family who lived differently-that were able to hunt animals instead of humans. We've been with the Cullens ever since then."

"Since you know how the newborns react, would you be able to train us?" Sam asked.

"I can," Jasper replied. "We can meet a few nights a week as Alice tries to keep watch of when she'll come."

"How about we start tomorrow night?" Jake suggested.

"Sounds good to me," Emmett said. The rest of the Cullens nodded their agreement and Jake looked to the rest of the pack.

"We're good," Jared said. After they decided on the time and space, the pack left and we went back inside the house.

"Do you really think this will work? I asked Jasper.

"It will," Jasper reassured me. "The pack seems willing to learn and I can make sure everyone learns in a way that keeps them safe."

"Okay," I breathed. _I hoped he was right_ …

 **UnknownPOV**

 _Is she still coming for me? I wondered to myself as I laid in the hospital bed. I'm still restrained after I attacked the blond doctor who tried treating me; and I had to give him that message. I don't know these people! Why am I involved in this?_

 _All I want is to go home and try to sleep this nightmare off. That's the only logical explanation that could be. There's no possible way someone bit…ouch! I tried to scratch my wrist on this cuff and I feel a sore around it. I look a little closer and notice that it is in fact a bite mark on my arm._

 _It was real; some crazed red head actually attacked me?_

"Hello Randy," that bone chilling bubblegum tone voice said to me.

"It's you," I whispered in fear. "Why are you here? I did everything you asked."

"Good," she said stalking near my bed. "It's almost time."

"Time for what?" I asked. "What are you going to do?"

"That's nothing you need to worry about," she cooed. "You've served your purpose."

 _The last thing I remember before I died was the feeling of a cold hand covering my mouth and the razor sharp pain of her bite as she took ounce by ounce of blood from me._

 **Ooh, got a little darker with that ending! Everything will come to a head soon because I've been going back and forth on a certain twist I wanted to use and debating on if I will or save it for the sequel to this that I want to do! (Yes, I'm planning a sequel folks!)**

 **Thank you to my new followers: lunamoon2012, Moonlight howling, RejectedBoredom, daniques1, jodyishere, Rebecca95, and sgtharrison46**

 **Thank you to my new favoriting followers: TwilightWallflower, tmcash2274, kizmitkojo, Twilight Sparkles Passion, velvetWhispers, and PhOeNiXLaMe5291.**

 **You guys are amazing! Even if you haven't favorited or followed the story, but you've still been reading- thank you so, so much!**

 **Until next time, xoxo**


	22. Chapter 22

**A/N: Well, hello all... again, I apologize for this taking forever to post! In addition to working on another project, I've also been job hunting- stress to a lack of job does not make for a good writing flow :(**

 **Thanks for your patience, you're seriously the best!**

 **I don't own _Twilight,_ but it makes for a great creative outlet :)**

" _It's been almost a century that Edward's been alone. Now he's found you. You can't see the changes we see, we who have been with him for so long. Do you think any of us want to look into his eyes for the next hundred years if he loses you?"_ _  
_ _―_ _ **Stephenie Meyer**_ _,_ _ **Twilight**_

 **BPOV**

Edward rode home with me and sure enough, Charlie's car still wasn't there. I hope he was okay and he wasn't stressing himself out too badly.

"Do you want me to come in for a minute?" Edward asked.

"Yeah, I just have a weird feeling," I admitted. We got out of my car and Edward's face twisted as if he smelled something unpleasant.

"What's the matter?" I asked him.

"Another vampire's been here," he told me. "Stay close to me." I unlocked the door and we walked in slowly.

"Do you hear anyone?" I whispered. He shook his head, but reminded me that Victoria could have somehow trained them to keep their thoughts safe. With that in mind, I walked a little closer to him as we went upstairs.

Edward must have heard something in my room because he warned me in a low tone, "Go downstairs as quietly and as quickly as you can."

I turned as Edward opened my bedroom door and I heard a snarl come out of there. I went downstairs like he told me, but I was met by two other vampires. It wouldn't matter where I ran, one of them would catch me; I was trapped.

Even though I knew I'd be unmatched, I'd still rather die trying to get away. I turn to climb back upstairs when one of the vampires caught me by the leg. I grabbed on to the railing and tried to kick back with my other foot, but the other grabbed that one.

The two of them only needed one good pull to not only break my legs, but pull me off the banister. Just as they were getting ready to pull me, Emmett and Jasper came through the back door and pulled them off me. I fell onto the stairs, probably bruising my butt in the process. Rose came rushing over to me.

"Are you okay?" She asked in a worried tone and pulled me into a hug.

"I'm okay," I managed to breathe out. Rose pulled me up as Edward and Alice came downstairs with pieces of the vampire who was in my room in their arms.

"I'm so sorry," Alice said. "My visions have still been a little off and I didn't know they were coming. I would have warned you two."

"It's okay, Alice," I reassured her. "I'm just glad you guys got here when you did."

"We need to get these pieces burned," Edward said with a hard edge to his voice.

"I'll take them," Rose volunteered as she gathered the pieces Edward had in his arms.

"Are you okay?" Edward asked me.

"I'm fine," I told him. "A little bruised and sort of shaken up, but otherwise-I'm fine."

Just as Edward pulled me into his arms for a hug, Emmett called for us to come outside. We walked out to find a small plume of smoke coming out the forest near my house; Jasper and Emmett were still holding the female vampire as she was struggling to break free.

"Wait, I think I recognize her," I said. She looked up at me and it hit me almost immediately. "You're Cassandra Reynolds, aren't you?" I asked.

"I used to be," she responded. "I could have stayed her if it weren't for you!" she snarled.

"What are you talking about?" Rose growled back.

"She knew I was from Forks, so she assumed I could find you. I just wanted to be able to finish school and move on with my life, but she wants you so badly," Cassandra said. "Why are you so special?"

"Her mate is dead because of me," Edward told her. "She figures I need to feel the same pain that she does by losing mine."

Cassandra looked a bit remorseful for that. "She said she needed an army to protect her from you because she claimed she would go to the Volturi to expose you," she claimed.

"Victoria's lying through her teeth," Emmett growled, but slowly started to let her up. Jasper nodded that she was calm.

Cassandra stood to her full height; she reminded me of Rose except she wasn't quite as curvy and her hair was a deeper blonde, where Rose's was near platinum. She looked at me again. "She claimed the Volturi didn't know about you," she explained.

"I've met them personally," I laughed humorlessly. "They know all about me and our situation."

"So it's really because you killed her mate?" Cassandra asked Edward. Edward nodded solemnly.

"I've had a rough past in this life," he explained to her. "I've done things that I'm not entirely proud of, but to protect her- I wouldn't hesitate killing that bastard again."

"James-that was Victoria's mate, saw hunting Bella as a challenge," Jasper explained to Cassandra. "It was an added bonus that he had to contend with the rest of us. He relished in the hunt and that ultimately led to his destruction."

"Believe it or not we don't want to hurt you," Rose said in a calm tone. "But you have to understand, Bella is a part of our family and we won't think twice about protecting her."

Cassandra looked at my family in understanding. "So what happens now?" she asked.

"Well, you have two choices," Alice told her. "You could either get as far away from Washington State as possible or you can go back to Victoria."

"There's no chance in hell I'm going anywhere near her again- she'll kill me because I didn't kill Bella first," Cassandra snarled. "If I do leave, I need help though. I need some type of closure for my parents; is there any way that you can help?" she asked gently.

Alice stood with her eyes closed momentarily. "We may be able to stage your 'death' and let your parents have a service…" she trailed off.

"Is there any way that you can convince them I should be cremated?" She asked. "I'd hate for them to spend that much money on a funeral where I could probably dig myself out of my grave."

"We can figure something out," Alice reassured her with a small smile.

"I'm sorry for attacking you," She apologized to me. "Sounds like it was based on a lie."

"Before you leave, do you think you can help us?" Rose asked her. "You've been around Victoria the longest next to Riley. You might be able to help us beat her."

"So I help you and you help me?" Cassandra asked. Rose nodded and Cassandra said, "Okay."

Emmett and Jasper agreed to take her back to the Cullen house, while Rose and Alice went to straighten up my room.

"So what happens now?" I asked as Edward and I walked back in my house.

"Now we see what happens," Edward sighed. "I hate to leave you here, but Charlie will be wondering where you are."

"Actually, Charlie should be calling you in a few seconds," Alice told me. "Billy Black called him to stay the night so they could do some early morning fishing."

"I called Jake to let him know what happened," Rose added. "The pack is going to do another sweep of the area tonight."

"Thanks you guys," I sighed. My phone rang then-just like Alice said.

"Hi dad," I answered.

"Hey Bells, Billy just called me for a last minute fishing trip for in the morning," Charlie explained to me on the phone. "We might have to push our day back more towards the evening if that's okay."

"Yeah, that's fine Dad," I told him. "I can meet you in La Push with a change of clothes if you want."

"Sounds good," he sighed. "Is everything okay kid? You sound a little off."

 _Damn his intuitive cop nature_ , I thought to myself. "Yeah, I just heard something outside and I'm a little freaked out."

"Think Edward would come pick you up and you can have a girl's night with Alice and Rosalie or something?" Charlie suggested.

"Yeah, I think he would," I told him. "I'll see you tomorrow?"

"You got it," he said. "Stay safe, kid."

"You too," I replied. "I love you, Dad."

"Love you too, Bells. I'll see you tomorrow," Charlie replied before he hung up.

"Alright, I grabbed a bag of Charlie's stuff and I packed a bag for you too," Alice said placing the two bags in front of me.

"Thanks, Alice," I said.

"Can you two give us a minute?" Edward asked his sisters gently.

"We'll meet you back at the house," Rose answered with a nod and a sad smile. She and Alice left out the front door, leaving Edward and I alone again.

"How are you, Bella? Really?" Edward asked me.

"I'm tired," I said in a listless voice. "I just want this to end. I hate feeling like I constantly have to look over my shoulder; I hate putting you all in danger. I just want this to end," I started sobbing. Edward held me as tightly as he could without hurting me.

"I promise you, Bella- We will protect you and we will end this," he whispered in my ear fiercely. "We won't let her touch you."

I sat back a little from his embrace to look him in the eye- his eyes were black again from the stress of the situation. I rubbed the circles that were starting to form again underneath his eyes and he shut them. I took that opportunity then to do something that I hadn't done since we left Volterra- I kissed him. I refused for it to be as frantic as those before had been; I wanted to take my time again, like we've never been able to because either my hormones would take over or it was a threatening situation such as this.

Edward seemed surprised, but gently deepened the kiss; I think he needed to feel the connection as much as I did. We stayed like this for a few minutes until I remembered I needed to breathe. Edward's eyes had brightened a little bit after that and he smiled.

"At least that reaction's stayed the same since I've been gone," he joked, causing both of us to laugh a bit. He looked at me with a little more sincerity. "Bella, I know you have plans with your father tomorrow evening, but could I maybe have the morning with you?" He asked me.

"I'd love to spend the morning with you, Edward," I smiled. We took a few more minutes composing ourselves and left my house. Edward drove since I was still too keyed up to drive; I knew he was worried because I wasn't even complaining about his speed.

After having Esme fuss over me as Edward explained the situation, I went to take a shower in Edward's bathroom, changed into my pajamas and climbed into the bed Edward had bought for us. I fell asleep as soon as my head hit the pillow, mentally drained from everything that happened.

 **Well, Victoria knows how to bring drama to a story while barely being in it, doesn't she? So much trouble in so little time! So like I mentioned I think either last chapter or the chapter before, I definitely want to do a sequel to this story (Y'know, once I actually finish this one), but that's probably going to be posted when I have a decent cushion of chapters done so you won't have as long to wait for the story. So if you haven't already, follow me as an author so you'll know when it's there :)**

 **Thanks to my new story follower, Freyja71; new favoriters: 228, Moser1604, vinie24, , and DolphinDelight; and to the following/favoriters: SophiaLilia, hermygirl07, behrends1999, and Subhera.**

 **And thank you to everyone for keeping up with this story, it really means so much to me :)**

 **Until next time, xoxo**


	23. Chapter 23

**A/N: Hi everyone! My apologies are starting to feel redundant at this point, but again-thank you all so much for being patient! You're amazing :)**

 **I don't own _Twilight_ , but I will have yet _another_ copy of my all-time favorite movie on Tuesday :D**

" _That I wasn't mad at_ _you_ _. Can't you see that Bella?" He was suddenly intense, all trace of teasing gone. "Don't you understand?"_

 _"See what?" I demanded, confused by his sudden mood swing as much as his words._ _  
_ _"I'm never angry with you - how could it be? Brave, trusting . . . warm as you are."_ _  
_ _"Then why?" I whispered, remembering the black moods that pulled him away from me, that I'd always interpreted as well-justified frustration - frustration at my weakness, my slowness, my unruly human reactions . . ._ _  
_ _He put his hands carefully on both side of my face. "I infuriate myself," he said gently. "The way I can't seem to keep from putting you in danger. My very existence puts you at risk. Sometimes I truly hate myself. I should be stronger, I should be able to-"_ _  
_ _I placed my hand over his mouth. "Don't."_ _  
_ _He took my hand, moving it from his lips, but holding it to his face._ _  
_ _"I love you," he said. "It's a poor excuse for what I'm doing, but it's still true."_ _  
_ _It was the first time he'd said he loved me - in so many words. He might not realize it, but I certainly did."_ _  
_ _―_ _ **Stephenie Meyer**_ _,_ _ **Twilight**_

 **EPOV**

Rosalie came to stand by my door with me as I watched Bella sleep. After everything that happened within the last few months but especially tonight, I didn't want to let her out of my sight.

"Cassandra agreed to help; now we just need to convince the pack that it's a good idea," she sighed.

"Knowing Alice and Jasper, they'll be able to smooth it out," I answered distractedly.

"Hey," she nudged me. I finally turned to look at my sister. "I know that you're worried about Bella, but how are you holding up?"

"I'm the last person that question needs to be asked to," I laughed humorlessly. "This whole mess wouldn't have happened if I hadn't fallen in love with a human."

"You're probably right," Rose agreed. "But then, think about it: Emmett was still human when I found him. What if he hadn't been mauled by a bear? We'd probably would have had a similar story to you two," she continued.

"I know I gave you both a hard time, but I didn't realize that she truly was your mate. All I want is for our family to stay safe; so the sooner we put that bitch down, the better," Rose concluded.

"I agree," I sighed. "What had Cassandra told you?"

"She's definitely creating an army," Jasper said, coming up behind us. "She must have gotten the idea from someone who was in Maria's coven. Her guess must be if she can get rid of all of us, it's easier to get to Bella," he concluded.

"We would have had the element of surprise with the wolves, but they've been trying to catch her too." Rose groaned.

"But she doesn't necessarily know that they're on our side," I speculated.

"We may still have that to our advantage," Jasper agreed.

"And with what Cassandra knows, we should have the upper hand," Rose added.

"Sounds good," I breathed.

"We can finish this conversation tomorrow, when Edward doesn't feel torn between hunting Victoria down and being with Bella," Jasper nudged me.

"Thank you," I looked towards my siblings. Rose gave me a reassuring pat on my shoulder and the two of them went to search for Alice and Emmett respectively. I went to the bed to lay next to Bella. When she sensed my weight shift the bed, she drew closer to me and laid her head against my un-beating heart.

Seeing how she could trust me even after everything that I've done, it strengthened my resolve even further: I would keep her safe no matter what.

 **BPOV**

I woke up the next morning searching for Edward, but finding a note instead.

 _Went hunting with Emmett and Jasper so I can give you a proper date this morning._

 _I'll be back so soon you won't have time to miss me. Look after my heart–I've left it with you._

 _Edward_

The smell of bacon and pancakes fully woke me up so I went in Edward's bathroom to get ready for the day. After I was fully dressed, I went downstairs to see Rose and Alice cooking breakfast for me.

"Morning!" Alice greeted me brightly.

"Good morning, Bella," Rose greeted me warmly, but softer than Alice's.

"Good morning," I responded. "You two didn't have to go through all this trouble; cereal would have been just fine really," I added.

"Esme would have our heads if we didn't give you something that wouldn't leave you hungry in a few hours," Rose said. "Besides, we don't mind; we can't treat our husbands to breakfast in the morning, so while our little sister is still human we can spoil her a bit," she added.

I ducked my head down to hide my tears and cleared my throat so it wouldn't be quite as obvious how moved I was.

"Where is Esme, anyway?" I asked. "I'm so used to seeing her here."

"She and Carlisle are meeting Jake, his father and Sam at the border to La Push," Alice explained. "He felt that the pack should hear about this new development in person rather than just from a phone call."

"What about Cassandra?" I asked.

"She went hunting with the boys," Alice answered again. "I think they wanted to show her there's another way to survive rather than hunting humans."

"Okay, moment of truth- let us know what you think," Rose said as she placed a plate of pancakes, bacon, and fruit in front of me. I cut into the pancakes with my fork and took a bite.

"Can you guys not be good at everything?" I whined. After that, I dug into my breakfast.

"I told you not to worry," Alice teased. Rose playfully rolled her eyes and began cleaning up the kitchen. Just as I finished eating, the boys and Cassandra came into the house.

"Is it weird for me to miss eating pancakes?" Cassandra asked.

"Nope, I miss eating bacon sometimes," Emmett responded. "Not that I don't try every once in a while."

"Yeah, the results aren't pretty," Jasper shuddered as Edward looked down at his cell phone.

"Jacob just sent me a text," Edward announced. "The pack will come over tonight so they can meet you," he directed at Cassandra.

"Why wouldn't they just come now?" Cassandra asked in a nervous tone.

"When you morph into a giant wolf, it's a bit easier to be inconspicuous at night," Alice said.

"Carlisle and Esme explained the situation to the leaders of the pack," Jasper told her. "Since you've agreed to be part of the solution to help protect Bella, they're willing to see you as an ally for now."

"So since we have some time to kill, how about we work on sparring considering we actually have a newborn vampire to work with?" Emmett asked in an excited tone.

"Sounds good to me," Cassandra said. "Anyone else joining us?"

"We will in a few," Rose said. Cassandra, Jasper and Emmett went outside after that. Alice and Rose whisked me upstairs to give me some "finishing touches" for my date with Edward. Once I was lightly made up and had changed tops and shoes, the girls released me and went outside to join the others.

"You look beautiful," Edward said taking my hand and lightly kissing it. "As always."

"Thank you," I smiled. "So do I get to know where we're going today or is it a surprise?"

"It's a surprise," he smiled and began leading me out the front door. We took my car since it would be easier for me to get to La Push that way. We drove what would take a normal person nearly 3 hours to get to Olympia in about an hour.

"So what's here in Olympia?" I asked Edward as we got out of the car and I took his hand.

"A lot of local artists set up a street fair during the spring," he explained. "I thought it might be a nice change of pace from the typical movie date…unless you actually wanted to just go to the movies…" he trailed off uncertainly.

I kissed him on the cheek to let him know I was okay with this surprise. "This is probably one of the sweetest surprises you or your family has pulled off for me," I told him. "Bonus points if I can actually find some decorations for prom."

He chuckled by my side and we walked around the different vendors. Some musicians provided the soundtrack for the afternoon. There were jewelry makers, painters, sculptors, and tailors all over the place. I found a couple nice pieces of jewelry that I may possibly be able to pair with something for prom, we found vases that would be great centerpieces for the tables at prom that Edward ended up having to carry and I found a few flowy dresses that Alice sent a text of her approval for.

After a couple of hours, we stopped at a local café where I got a sandwich and soup.

"So have you been enjoying yourself?" Edward asked cautiously.

"I really have," I answered with a smile. "I guess you never planned a lot of dates back in the 1900's, huh?"

"Not really," he responded with a small smile and shake of the head. "I mean, there were girls that I thought were pretty-none of them really held my attention however."

"So if your life hadn't turned out the way it did…" I started, unsure how to phrase.

"You mean if Carlisle hadn't found me or my family didn't get infected with Spanish Influenza?" Edward asked.

"Yeah," I responded. "What do you think would have happened?"

"Well, I always had a grand vision of being a soldier," Edward started. "As soon as I turned 18, I was planning on enlisting."

"You would have fought in World War I?" I asked.

"That was my plan, yes," Edward answered. "I don't believe I ever really thought of the future because I wasn't really planning on having one."

"That's terribly sad," I responded. "What about your parents? Did they agree with your choices?"

"My father wanted me to follow in his footsteps and become a lawyer," Edward grimaced. "I believe my mother would have preferred I do anything but enlist."

"There are so many 'what ifs' that surround my life, Bella," Edward sighed. "The one that scares me the most is what if I never met you? What if I kept my distance like I planned when we first met? What if I never left?"

"I think about that sometimes too," I admitted. Edward looked up at me in surprise and confusion. "I mean, what if I never decided to come to Forks? What if I just followed my mom and Phil to Florida?"

"You would be safe," Edward whispered sadly.

"I would also be miserable," I whispered right back as I held his hand across the table. "I would have been lonely. Yes, we've been through a lot; but I wouldn't change anything."

"Anything?" Edward asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Okay, I may have taken back some of the things I said after you came back," I winced. "But even with you being gone, I wouldn't change that."

"You were in so much pain," Edward said. "Why wouldn't you change that?"

"In a way, it made me have to grow up," I admitted. "It made me really think about the path that I truly want for my life."

"It made me realize that I would rather be with you because I want to be, not that I need to be," I told him.

"I think I understand what you mean," Edward said slowly. "Rather you want to be with me because you choose to, not because you have to."

"Exactly," I said with a smile.

"So, you mean that you want to have a life that's independent of us sometimes, but you still want to be part of our family?" Edward asked.

"Yeah, that's what I'm getting at," I said. "I know how close the family is, but everyone has their own individual thing- I don't want to be the only Cullen without a passion."

When I mentioned taking on his family surname, Edward smiled. "You do realize you called yourself a Cullen," he said.

"Careful, Edward," I warned. "I think your inner 17 year old is showing."

Edward laughed aloud at this as I waved down the waiter for the check. Once Edward paid, we gathered everything we found and went to my car. Edward drove back a little bit slower this time so we got back to Forks in 2 hours instead.

"I feel like you're trying to extend the time you have with me," I joked.

"I am," Edward admitted sadly. I turned to him and looked into his eyes.

"You're afraid of what might happen with Victoria," I said instead of asked.

"I don't want to think that I may not see you again," he told me.

"Then don't," I whispered. "Trust in the pack and your family; make sure you watch each other's backs and then stay safe for my sake."

Edward didn't say anything at that point; instead he leaned over the console and kissed me.

"I love you," Edward said quietly. "I wish that I had something better to say, but…" he trailed off.

"I love you too," I said back. "Even when I didn't want to anymore, I still did."

He looked into my eyes then with determination. "I promise you, Bella- I will make sure you're safe."

"I know you will," I smiled.

 **So I was going to add her father/daughter day with Charlie in too, but I felt that deserved a chapter of its own. I make no promises but fingers crossed, there's a new chapter or two by the end of the month.**

 **End of the chapter shout outs go to: Jessasaurus011 and jansails for following my author page; StarWarsHarryPotterfangirl2788 for adding the story to their alerts; MsAnonWriter, OutWithSociety,Dark-hunterxONihime, and JackBoy15 for favoriting; Dark-Saffire, HoneyEvans, CPM2003, golfaholic, Sammie79, and jazzyjay1999 for following the story; and heartstrings13 for being favoriting followers; and a MAJOR shout out to mikkylee for favoriting and following both the story AND my author page! Thank you all so much, literally seeing all of your notifications made me keep writing.**

 **You guys are amazing and hopefully, I'll be back sooner than later! Until next time...**

 **xoxo**


	24. Chapter 24

**A/N: Well, even though I had work, family visits, and spring cleaning- I still managed to get a chapter to you guys by the end of the month like I hoped! Yay :)**

 **Thank you guys for your unwavering patience and onward with the story...**

 **I don't own _Twilight_ , but I'm very curious to see Rob with Platinum blonde hair and a New Yawk accent...**

"I know you're frustrated that he's keeping you locked up like this, but don't give him too bad a time when he gets back. He loves you more than you know. It terrifies him to be away from you."

― **Stephenie Meyer** , **Eclipse**

 **BPOV**

After I dropped Edward off back home, I called Charlie to see if he was ready to go. When he confirmed that he was, I drove to La Push to pick him up. I pulled up to Billy's house just as Jake was coming outside.

"Hey Bells!" he called as he ran up to me. "I would hug you, but I can smell Edward on you," he added while wrinkling his nose in disgust.

"What is with this scent thing?" I asked. "You all smell fine to me!"

"You'll get it once you've changed," Jake said with a shrug of his shoulders.

"Did you actually just talk about the possibility of my becoming a vampire without any anger or sarcasm?" I asked in a surprised tone.

"Yeah, I guess I did," Jake said with a short laugh. "In the end, I just want you to be happy, Bella."

"See, you can't say something like that because now I want to hug you!" I playfully whined. Jake laughed as another car pulled up next to mine.

"Hey, you guys!" Jess greeted us. "I'm surprised to see you here, Bella."

"I'm just here to pick up my dad," I told her. "He came out to do some fishing with Billy."

"Speaking of my dad, I actually have to run into the house and grab the stuff for our date," Jake told Jess. "Did you want to come in and meet him or…"

"No, I'd like to meet him," Jess said excitedly.

"I don't want to intrude on that, so can I just pass you Charlie's stuff and you can let him know I'm outside?" I asked Jake.

"Yeah, no problem," Jake said taking Charlie's bag. "Ready?" He asked Jessica, taking her hand in his.

"Yeah," she said sweetly. "I'll call you later, Bella!" she called back to me.

I waited for about another ten minutes before Charlie came out.

"Hey kid," Charlie greeted me.

"Hey dad, ready to go?" I asked him.

"I'm ready," he said putting his things in the back seat of my car. "So what are we doing today kid?"

"Well, before I left the Cullen's house today, I looked up some movie times for a couple comedies that I thought you might want to see," I told him. "After that, I thought we could grab something for dinner."

"Good plan," Charlie said with a nod. "When's the next showing?"

"About an hour and fifteen minutes from now, so we should probably head up there now," I told him.

Around ten minutes into our drive, Charlie asked me what I had been up to that morning.

"Edward and I drove up to Olympia this morning," I told him. "They were having a street fair and I was able to pick up a few things."

"You kids must have left pretty early in order to get a decent enough time up there," Charlie looked at me.

"I didn't sleep too well last night; I was worried about you," I told my father. "So yeah, we did end up leaving around seven this morning."

"Did you have a good time?" Charlie asked.

"Yeah, I did," I responded with a smile. "We got a chance to talk and we hashed some things out."

"All right," Charlie said with a nod. "So, are you two back together? Making things official again?"

"We're trying to figure things out," I told him honestly. "I promise, when things become official again, you'll be the first to know Chief."

"Okay," Charlie said. "I just want you to be careful, kid. Seeing you like that a few months ago tore me apart and I just don't want to watch you go through something like that again."

"We've been talking about that too," I admitted that to him. "He's been taking everything you and his family have been saying to heart and we're working on building the trust between us back up."

Charlie nodded and we finished the rest of the drive in a comfortable silence after that. We ended up seeing a buddy cop comedy where the two were rivals back in high school and had to learn to work together now as adults to take down a drug kingpin.

After we left the theater, I asked Charlie what he was in the mood for.

"Well, I've been hearing from some of the guys at work about this place called Bella Italia," Charlie told me.

"Oh yeah, I've been there before," I tried keeping my voice casual. Thinking about it reminded me of what almost happened that night- and also why Edward was behaving the way that he was; it was also our first date of sorts.

"Do you remember the food being any good?" Charlie asked.

"Yeah, the food's good and it's pretty reasonable too," I told him. "Did you want to try it?"

"I think it's about time for this old man to get out of his comfort zone about a few things," Charlie joked.

Thankfully, the hostess that was there the night Edward and I came wasn't there; instead, it was a sweet girl with purple highlights in her hair that reminded me of Alice. We sat at a table in the middle of the restaurant this time. I ordered my coke and Mushroom Ravioli, while Charlie ordered a coke and Chicken Parmesan.

We talked about how things were going at school for me and if I had made up my mind on what school I was going to be attending.

"I think the school is just going to have a day where the senior class goes up to U Dub," I told Charlie. "I was hoping to visit mom during spring break; maybe she can meet me in New Hampshire."

"Tickets to Florida around this time of year are kind of expensive, Bells," Charlie said hesitantly.

"Actually, Carlisle and Esme bought a couple tickets for me for my birthday," I admitted.

"Well, that was awful kind of them," Charlie said. "Maybe you can ask one of your girlfriends to go with you."

"That sounds good," I mused to myself. I think Angela said she was going with her father to do some kind of mission work that week; Jess would probably love the chance to spend a week somewhere warm- and Jake would be glad she was somewhere safe too.

We talked about our opinions on the movie; Charlie feeling that the plot was way too predictable and for me how unrealistic it seemed for them to suddenly bond so quickly. We began driving back to La Push so that Charlie could pick up his cruiser, when Charlie got a call on his cell phone.

"Hey Mark," Charlie greeted his deputy over the phone. After a few minutes, Charlie's happier demeanor took a sudden turn. "Are you sure about that?" he asked him.

"Do you need me to come up there?" he asked. When it seemed like he didn't, Charlie just told him to keep him up to date and hung up his phone with a heavy sigh.

"Is everything okay dad?" I asked.

"Not really, Bells," Charlie responded. "There was a victim that we found in Seattle named Randy Blake a couple days ago. He was in the psych ward for a couple days and…and one of the nurses found him dead," He concluded.

"Oh my God, that's horrible," I said, feeling sorry for the man that Victoria had made her messenger…and more than likely a meal.

"I'm going to call Dr. Cullen and see if he doesn't mind if his girls coming to stay the night with you," Charlie said.

"Okay," I responded. "Are you heading back to Seattle?" I asked him.

"No, it's my usual overnight at the station," Charlie said. We pulled into La Push shortly after that where Jess' car still sat near Billy's house.

"I guess Jake's date is still going pretty well," Charlie mused.

"Looks like it," I said with a smile. We both got out of my car and he walked towards his cruiser.

"Call me when you get to the house kid and let me know everything's alright," Charlie told me.

"I will," I promised him. "Stay safe; I'm going to say hi to Billy and then I'll be on my way home."

"Always am," Charlie said giving me a playful salute.

I knocked on the door and Billy opened it with his usual calm look on his face.

"Good to see you around these parts again, Bella," Billy said.

"It's good to see you too, Billy," I smiled at him. "Do you mind if I came in for a minute?"

"Come on in," Billy said adjusting himself to let me into the house.

I walked in and sat down at his kitchen table. He rolled up so that he could face me across the way.

"So, has Jake told you about everything that happened with the Cullens?" I asked Billy.

"He did," Billy answered. "He also told me that you have a pretty big decision ahead of you."

"Yeah," I sighed. Billy looked at me and I knew it was a look of reminiscence-he was thinking back to when Jake and I were younger, before we knew of the existence of vampires or believed the Quileute legends to be true.

"Bella, you're my best friend's daughter," Billy began. "I've gotten an abbreviated chance to watch you grow, hear about how proud of you Charlie was, and all I can say is, whatever you decide-let it be for you, sweetheart. Don't make a choice that you can't take back out of fear."

"I will, Billy, I promise," I said grabbing his hand from where I sat across from him. At that moment, we heard the door open with Jess and Jake's laughter following close behind.

"Hey Bella," they greeted me together.

"Sounds like you kids had a good time," Billy said facing them.

"We did," Jessica said looking up to Jake with a smile. "I just wanted to come back and say good night."

"Well, I really appreciate that," Billy said warmly. "I hope to see you around more."

"I'm sure you will; I just hope you don't get sick of me," Jess joked.

"If you keep that silly grin on my boy's face, I certainly doubt that," Billy joked back.

"Alright, I think that's my cue to get him out of here," Jake said with a roll of his eyes. He leaned down to give Jess a soft kiss on the lips. "I'll talk to you later?" he asked.

"Definitely," she said. "Walk with me, Bella?" she asked me.

"Sure," I said getting up from the table. "Good night, Billy; night, Jake," I said.

"Night Bells," they both called back. Jess and I walked out Billy's front door and to our cars.

"So how was your date?" I asked.

"It was good, but there's something Jake said that I wanted to ask you about," Jess said hesitantly.

"Yeah, what is it?" I said.

"Is it true that the Cullens are vampires?" Jess asked me. If anything else could make my blood run cold, it would be that…

 **So, Jess knows the truth now...this should be interesting!**

 **Chapter shout out time!**

 **Thank you to skwerewolf and HappilyInLove23 for favoriting the story; peahensquill, Midnight Angels Say GoodNight, kittylove2000, , and for following the story; Lessib, Sweetlatina, 3mos3xygirl16, bookslover93, and WolfPrincess82s for being my favoriting followers of the story; westosobear for favoriting both the story and I; and finally a HUGE shout out to Matthias L. Stormcrow for not only following and favoriting both the story and myself, but for going back through each chapter and commenting! That's serious dedication and I seriously appreciate it!**

 **Also while you're in between chapters, might I direct you to What Have We Done? by ladylibre. It's a drabble fic between Bella and Rose during the New Moon absense, she posts every other day...and this last chapter...seriously after this chapter, go read her fic. PLEASE!**

 **Thanks so much for the love everyone and until the next time,**

 **xoxo**


	25. Chapter 25

**A/N: Hey folks, long time no chapter right? Sorry about that, this one was pulling me in a lot of different directions. However, as usual, I appreciate your patience :)**

 **I don't own _Twilight_ , I'm just proud that this story celebrated its first anniversary almost 10 days ago! Thank you :)**

"'Do you like scary stories?' He asked ominously."

Jacob Black- **Stephenie Meyer** , **Twilight**

 **JESSPOV**

" _Is it true that the Cullens are vampires?" I asked Bella._

 _ **Earlier that day…**_

I woke up to a text message from Jacob this morning.

 _I can't wait to see you_

I felt giggly just seeing the words on the screen. Most people would start to think that we were moving way too fast; I remembered meeting him before, but all of a sudden out of the blue he asks me out on a date.

It wasn't that I felt uncomfortable…it just felt like so much too soon. There was something about Jacob that made me want to know everything about him- and I was scared that I was going to push him away because of that.

 _I'm probably just stressing over nothing_ , I thought to myself. _And it's not like I have to bring all this up on one date…_

I got in the shower and got dressed in some jeans and a t-shirt. It seemed like we were mainly staying in La Push today, so it was no reason to get all dressed up. I grabbed some cereal and toast for breakfast, responded to Bella's text about some beautiful decorations she found for centerpieces and left my parents a note that I was going to the reservation and left.

I should be a bundle of nerves right now, but I was ridiculously calm-as if I had known Jacob…Jake for years rather than just really meeting him a couple days ago. I finally pulled up and saw Bella and Jake standing around talking. I knew they were friends, but it still bothered me to see them that close together.

 _Hang on a second, we haven't even gone on a date yet_ , I thought to myself. _There hasn't been a DTR talk or anything! Just relax…_

I got out of the car to let them know I was there.

" _Hey, you guys!" I greeted them. "I'm surprised to see you here, Bella."_

" _I'm just here to pick up my dad," Bella told me. "He came out to do some fishing with Billy."_

" _Speaking of my dad, I actually have to run into the house and grab the stuff for our date," Jake told me. "Did you want to come in and meet him or…"_

" _No, I'd like to meet him," I said excitedly._

" _I don't want to intrude on that, so can I just pass you Charlie's stuff and you can let him know I'm outside?" Bella asked Jake._

" _Yeah, no problem," Jake said taking Chief Swan's bag. "Ready?" He asked me, taking my hand in his._

 _His hands are so warm,_ I thought to myself.

" _Yeah," I said sweetly._

" _I'll call you later, Bella!" I called back to her._

We walked hand in hand towards his house. It was a simple red ranch, but it felt comfortable…more like home than my own house.

"Dad?" Jake called as we entered the house.

"In the living room, son," I heard a strong but calm voice reply.

Suddenly the nerves were back. I started panicking about not dressing up or putting on a little more makeup or at least doing something more with my hair when Jacob squeezed my hand slightly.

"You look beautiful, Jessica," he said instantly calming me down. I took a deep breath and smiled up at him to show I was okay and we walked into the living room where his father was sitting in a wheelchair and Chief Swan was sitting in a recliner next to him watching highlights from the last baseball game.

"Hey dad, there's someone I want to introduce you to," Jake said in order to get his father's attention.

His father turned around in his wheelchair to face me and smiled at me. I could see where Jake got his good looks from.

"This must be Jessica," he said reaching for my hand. I took his hand and he shook mine. "It's nice to finally meet you, sweetheart."

"It's nice to meet you too, sir," I said. He chuckled warmly after releasing my hand.

"You can save the 'sir' for that one," he said pointing a finger at Chief Swan. "Billy is just fine."

"Oh sure, make me sound like the old fuddy-duddy," Chief Swan said playfully rolling his eyes. "Have either of you kids heard from Bella by any chance?"

"She's actually waiting outside," Jake said slinging the bag off his shoulder. "She asked if we could bring this to you."

"Thanks, Jake," Chief Swan said taking the bag from him. "I'll get dressed and get out of your hair then."

"Here, come have a seat," Billy directed us towards the couch. "So you're a friend of Bella's?"

"Yeah," I told Billy. "We were actually talking about prom planning when Jacob came to pick her up from school the other day; that's how we were sort of introduced to each other…again," I tagged at the end.

"Well, it's nice to finally put a face to the name my boy won't stop mentioning around here," Billy teased.

"Thanks, Dad," Jake sighed _. Aww, he was talking about me to his dad already…that's actually really sweet._

Just then Chief Swan came out of the back in his fresh clothes to tell us goodbye.

"Hey Billy, you don't mind if I leave the cruiser here until Bells and I get back into town, do you?" He asked.

"Sure, sure," Billy waved him off. "Tell Bella I said hello."

"Will do," Chief Swan playfully saluted him. "You kids enjoy your day."

"We will!" I called back

"Thanks, Charlie," Jake said at the same time.

With that, Chief Swan left out the front door to meet Bella for some father/daughter bonding time and Billy shooed Jacob and me out of the house so we could enjoy our day. Jake grabbed a picnic basket and we went outside to walk down towards the beach.

"Your father seems like a really sweet guy," I told him as we made it on the shoreline.

"Yeah, he is," Jake said with a small smile. "It's surprising to me, even after everything that's happened to him-he's still a pretty happy guy."

"So he wasn't always paralyzed?" I asked. "I'm sorry if that's too personal…"

"No, it's okay," Jake said. "He and my mom, Sarah, met when they were about our age and were head-over-heels in love with each other. They got married as soon as they were able to and maybe a year or two later, they had my older sisters Rachel and Rebecca."

"When I was around 5 or 6 years old, a drunk driver hit my parents head on. It killed my mom instantly and left my dad wheelchair bound," he said sadly.

"I'm so sorry," I whispered.

"I think she would've really liked you," Jake said turning to me with a smile.

"Do you remember much about her?" I asked him. "You were pretty young when she died."

"She was really warm, friendly…she loved to cook…she was my dad's world, basically," He told me.

"It seems like it," I said. "There were a lot of pictures of her around the house. She was really beautiful."

"Thanks," Jake said quietly.

"Okay, enough of the heavy," I said trying to change the subject. "What's in the basket?

"Well, my friend Sam's fiancée, Emily packed it for us…so I guess we'll find out," He responded with a smile.

It turns out Emily made a serious spread for us: turkey and Swiss sandwiches, fruit salad, homemade chocolate chip cookies, and double chocolate brownies. We sat, ate and talked about everything and nothing for hours. We talked about his favorite memories with his older sisters, my attempt at the regional spelling bee when I was in third grade, his friends in La Push, and even the part I was dreading most: what would happen to our relationship if I leave for New York.

"So there's something I wanted to talk to you about…" I trailed off.

"What's up?" Jake asked after he swallowed the brownie bite he chewed.

"I'm trying to figure out how to say this without scaring you off," I admitted to him.

"Whatever it is, Jessica, you can tell me," Jake said after tilting my head up to meet his eyes.

"I got accepted to NYU on a full scholarship for next year," I sighed.

"And you're worried I might not want to do the long distance thing?" Jake asked me. I nodded and Jake started laughing. I must have started looking upset because Jake started clarifying why he started laughing.

"Jess, I'm not laughing at why you feel that way," Jake began to explain. "I'm laughing that you're concerned that I couldn't wait around for a year."

"You mean, you would be willing to do long distance for a year?" I asked in a surprised tone.

"Jess, I'd be willing to do anything for you," He admitted to me. Jake must have been a little embarrassed because he started blushing right after he said that.

"Wow, we've gotten really deep for a first date, haven't we?" I joked, trying to lighten the mood.

Jake laughed shortly and I feel that we were leaving a lot of things left unsaid. I sighed and felt I may as well admit how I felt.

"Honestly, Jake, I think I was hoping you didn't want to do the long distance thing because of how I felt," I began to tell him. "My feelings for you are way stronger than they should be for a first date."

"Like it's almost hard to breathe if you don't get this off your chest," He added.

"Yes!" I cried out. "Wait, have you been feeling this too?"

"Yeah, and I was afraid to say so because I thought I would scare you off," Jake said rubbing the back of his neck.

"That's understandable," I said. "Is it weird though that we feel so strongly for each other already? I can't really put it into words…" I trailed off.

"I want to be able to explain why, but there's something I need to show you first," Jake said hesitantly.

"Whatever it is, you don't have to be afraid," I tried to reassure him.

"It's not me that should be afraid," He sighed. At that point, Jake stood up and started walking towards the forest.

"Jake, where are you going?" I questioned, starting to stand up myself.

"Wait here, please," he asked me in a strained tone. I did as he asked and waited. About five minutes had passed and I was starting to get worried.

"Jacob?" I called as I peered into the trees to see if I noticed him. Instead, a giant russet colored wolf slowly started coming towards me. I looked around to see if there was anyone that could help me or even something I could use to defend myself. I began to back away gradually as it kept coming closer until I saw it pause and lay on the ground.

We had a stare off for what felt like hours but may have only been a few minutes. Once I seemed sure that it wasn't going to attack me, I took a better look at the wolf. It was actually sort of beautiful, if not abnormally large. What got to me was the look in its eyes; it almost seemed familiar…human. The realization finally hit me.

"Jacob?" I whispered. The wolf put his head down on his front paws as a sign of submission and waited for me to come closer.

Against my better nature, I crawled towards the wolf slowly and lifted my hand towards his head. I gently put my hand against its fur and he closed his eyes in relaxation. I rubbed his head as he relaxed further. My mind was going a mile a minute: how is it possible for Jake to turn into a giant wolf and how am I not freaking out about this?

After a few more minutes, he lifted his head and walked back into the woods. Shortly after that, he emerged from the trees putting his shirt back on.

 _Well, that's a nice sight_ , I thought to myself. _Focus! You need to find out why your possible boyfriend turns into a giant dog!_

"I honestly thought you'd be running back to your car screaming right now," Jake said shyly.

"Honestly, I'm pretty sure you could catch me," I countered. "You were the giant wolf I saw just now, right?"

"Yes, that was me," he admitted. "You probably have a million questions for me…"

"Yeah, exactly why do you turn into a giant wolf?" I asked him.

"It's something in the Quileute genes that allows us to shift; we're not werewolves if that's what you're wondering," he started.

"So no silver bullets or full moons?" I asked. Jake shook his head.

"What does that have to do with our feelings for each other?" I asked. That was the question that confused me most of all.

"For the shifters in our tribe, there's this thing called imprinting…" Jake began.

"Imprinting?" I interrupted.

"The best way I can describe it is love at first sight, but more powerful," He explained. "It's more like the person you imprint on is the one that holds you to Earth. We're whatever they need us to be: a friend, a lover or a protector."

"Wow, that's a lot of devotion," I exhaled. "What would happen if the imprint didn't return that affection?"

"We would still feel that connection to them, but we would be respectful of their choice," Jake answered.

"Oh," I responded brilliantly. "Well, luckily for you, I don't mind all of the affection," I said trying to lighten the mood.

Jake finally smiled and sat back down next to me. "That, I'm really glad to hear," he said to me. At that point he leaned in to kiss me and I gladly returned it. He was warm and his lips were firm but gentle at the same time.

We broke away, grinning like fools and attempted to catch our breath. After the kiss, we just went to back to talking about mundane things for the next few hours. As the sun began to set and it got cooler on the beach, Jake noticed I was starting to shiver.

"Ready to head back up?" Jake asked me as he put his arm around my shoulders. I could get used to having an extremely hot boyfriend…literally, Jake's super warm.

"Yeah," I answered as we started to walk up. "Can I ask a couple more questions?"

"Go for it," he said.

"So does your shifting have anything to do with your body temperature?" I asked him.

"Yeah, we run at about 108 degrees to help maintain both forms," he explained.

"Okay last question for now: you say it's in your genes to shift into a wolf, but what else causes it? Can your dad transform too?" I asked.

"While the gene runs through our bloodline, it doesn't affect everyone," Jake explained. "It's triggered by something else."

"Jake, I saw you as a giant russet wolf today…I don't think much else could shock or scare me today," I said nudging his side.

"We only experience the shift if our natural enemies are around," Jake said with a heavy side.

"I know you said you're not like traditional werewolves, but the only enemies of theirs I can think of is a vampire," I tried to laugh off, thinking to the cheesy horror movies I'd watch with my dad when I was younger.

When I saw Jake wasn't laughing, I suddenly got the chills even though I could still feel Jake's warmth.

"There's actually such a thing as vampires?" I asked. Jake nodded as I was beginning to put some of the pieces together.

"So all of the animal attacks…" I trailed off.

"Were vampires feeding on people," Jake answered.

"Well, I guess Washington would be the perfect place considering we hardly get any sun…" I trailed off again. _The Cullens always stayed out of school when the sun was out…_

"Are you okay?" Jake asked me.

"Yeah, I'm okay," I tried to keep myself calm.

"Maybe on our next date, I should pretend to be normal," Jake teased.

I started laughing because this probably was the strangest, yet funniest, date I've ever been on. Our laughter continued as we reached his house. We walked into the house were Bella was sitting with Billy.

" _Hey Bella," we greeted her together._

" _Sounds like you kids had a good time," Billy said facing us._

" _We did," I said looking up to Jake with a smile. "I just wanted to come back and say good night."_

" _Well, I really appreciate that," Billy said warmly. "I hope to see you around more."_

" _I'm sure you will; I just hope you don't get sick of me," I joked._

" _If you keep that silly grin on my boy's face, I certainly doubt that," Billy joked back._

" _Alright, I think that's my cue to get him out of here," Jake said with a roll of his eyes. He leaned down to give me a soft kiss on the lips. "I'll talk to you later?" he asked._

" _Definitely," I said._

" _Walk with me, Bella?" I asked her._

" _Sure," she said getting up from the table. "Good night, Billy; night, Jake," she said._

" _Night Bells," they both called back. Bella and I walked out Billy's front door and to our cars._

" _So how was your date?" Bella asked me._

" _It was good, but there's something Jake said that I wanted to ask you about," I said hesitantly._

" _Yeah, what is it?" Bella said. Please be honest with me, Bella…_

" _Is it true that the Cullens are vampires?" Jess asked me._

I think her heart may have actually stopped…

 **So it wasn't Jake that told her...but he may have planted the idea in her head. Man, imprinting is serious stuff! On a serious note, thank you guys for a great year so far. I'm not new to FFN, but this is the first story of my that has really gone somewhere and I have you all to thank for that :)**

 **Speaking of thanks, thank you to: Bnhannah, jeasterl, and AHealingRenaissance for following the story; vampire and inuyasha lover 13, dixitlor, Jaenelle Masen, , hmr711, Twiggy85, and for favoriting the story; lil-legs-93 and Mr. Dark Raven for favoriting and following the story; and wicca7002 for favoriting the story and my author page.**

 **Thank you for reading and until the next time,**

 **xoxo**


	26. Chapter 26

**A/N: Due to the overwhelming response from the last chapter, we're getting a new one! Seriously, I was not expecting you guys to be so cool with Jessica being in the know. So thank you all and I hope this answers some questions for you guys from last time.**

 **I don't own _Twilight_ , I just have an overwhelming amount of gratitude to you all!**

"You're still waiting for the running and the screaming, aren't you?"  
― **Stephenie Meyer** , **Twilight**

 **BPOV**

I stood in Billy's front yard in shock. _There's no way Jess actually asked about the Cullens…_ I thought to myself. Part of me was in shock that this conversation was happening; the other part really wanted to go strangle Jake for opening his big mouth!

"Bella?" Jess called snapping me out of my reverie. I took a deep breath and looked to her.

"What exactly did Jake tell you?" I tried to turn the conversation because I knew Jake wouldn't put his imprint in danger like that.

"Well, I found out that Jake imprinted on me, he turns into a giant wolf, and that he only does this because of their natural enemies…which are vampires," Jess said.

"So, I was trying to put the rational part of my brain to use because I just didn't want to believe that we live in a town where creatures that drink blood to survive, right? But then I got to thinking about how we never see the Cullens on sunny day-they always claim to go camping or whatever; their eyes shift into different colors, but I thought 'maybe they just like to switch up contacts'?" She continued.

"Then again why would the whole family switch contacts on the same day and even though there's not supposed to be any blood relationship between them, they all have the same perfect features and pale skin-even paler than someone who lives in the Pacific Northwest. So Bella, please just tell me I'm not crazy. Are the Cullens vampires?" Jess breathed out.

Just as I was going to try and change the subject, I got a text message from Alice.

 _ **Ask Jessica to follow you to the house. We'll explain everything. Cassandra's gone-she's safe.**_

I put my phone in my pocket and took another deep breath.

"Jess, I promise you'll find out everything you wanna know, but I need to ask you to follow me somewhere," I told her.

"Okay," she responded and started walking to her car. Before she got in, she looked at me across the roof of mine.

"But I want the truth, Bella," Jess said as she ducked into her car.

 **APOV**

"So, we have a slight complication," I told the family.

"Is it Victoria?" Jasper asked.

"No, she's still holding out on her decision," I growled lightly. "It's about Bella…and Jessica."

"Jessica Stanley?" Emmett said in a confused tone. "What about Jessica is causing a complication?"

"Jessica…may have figured out what we are," I said with a slight wince.

"What! How, how did that happen?" Rose said in a panic.

"Jacob," Edward said. "He imprinted on her and essentially, he has to tell her everything."

"Great, that's one more person that we have to keep out of the Volturi's crosshairs," Rose let out a frustrated sigh.

"Not necessarily," Carlisle interjected. "If Jessica knows about us and like Bella, she keeps that secret to herself, there's no threat for the Volturi to investigate."

"But Aro can read thoughts by touch," Esme reasoned. "If he can't see anyone's thoughts, he'll be suspicious."

"And if he does, it's an automatic death sentence," Edward sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose.

"I mean Jess at least has the wolves to protect her if it were to come down to that," Jasper said.

"It still puts her at risk," I sighed.

"I can't believe Jacob opened his big mouth," Rose growled.

"Wait, what if he didn't?" Emmett said. "I think we just take advantage of the fact that very few people ever get close to us; maybe Jessica has noticed something about us but never really put things together because she was too busy trying to figure out how to get busy with Edward."

"We almost had a fully serious Emmett," Edward said in awe. "Even if it was at my expense, thank God for the joke at the end, otherwise I was afraid he may be the first vampire to be sick."

"Hardy har," Emmett said. "So what do we do now?"

"I'll text Bella to have Jess follow her here," I told everyone. "Rose, I know that this isn't the most ideal situation…"

"At this point what's one more human that knows about us?" Rose sighed in defeat. "But maybe if she hears it from us, we can get her to understand why it's so important for her to keep it quiet."

"So, should I probably leave?" Cassandra said from the stairs. She had freshly showered and got dressed in some of the clothes I managed to sneak out of her house.

"Jeez, you were so quiet I forgot you were here!" I said.

"Not all of us have to make our presence known, Ali," Emmett teased.

"Whatever," I said with a roll of my eyes. "Jazz, can you and Emmett take Cassandra hunting again? She'll need her strength if we're going to start training tonight."

"I am thirsty again," Cassandra said softly rubbing her throat.

"Okay, we'll head out now then," Jasper said giving me a soft kiss to the temple. Emmett gave Rose a soft kiss on the lips and his best 'be nice' face and the three of them sped out the back door.

"How long will it take for them to get here?" Edward asked.

"It should take them a few more minutes," I confirmed. Hopefully Jessica will be as reasonable as Carlisle is believing she'll be…

 **JESSPOV**

We pulled up to a gorgeous house in the middle of the woods. I guess if I'm going to ask about someone, I may as well get information from the source.

Bella and I got of our cars at the same time and started walking towards the house. "So this is how the other half lives," I joked, attempting to lighten the mood.

"That's how I felt the first time I came to visit too," Bella said with a laugh. We walked up the front steps and walked in the front door.

Most of the Cullen family was sitting in the dining room. Alice came skipping over first.

"Hi Jessica, we're glad you decided to come with Bella," she said trying to keep the mood light.

"Sure thing," I said trying to match her voice. Maybe this wasn't the smartest idea…

"Would you mind having a seat here, Jessica?" Dr. Cullen asked. I took my seat in the chair he held out for me and Bella sat next to me with Edward by her side. Alice and Rosalie sat on the other side of me.

"Okay, I held up to my end of the deal," I looked to Bella. "It's your turn."

Bella looked to each of the Cullens present and Alice nodded to her. Bella let out a sigh and turned her attention to me.

"Yes, Jess-the Cullens are vampires," Bella said in a no nonsense voice.

"Holy shit," I squeaked.

"I brought you here because they wanted a chance to defend themselves and probably answer any questions you have," Bella told me.

"Okay…don't you need blood to survive?" I asked.

"We do, but we don't drink from humans," Mrs. Cullen said. "We survive from the blood of animals."

"That's good to know," I sighed with relief. "So why do your eyes change colors?"

"Our eyes reflect our diet," Rosalie answered. "Since we drink from animals, our take on the golden color. Vampires that are new to this life usually have red eyes because their own blood hasn't completely solidified in their system."

"And vampires that drink from humans?" I asked.

"Their eyes would remain red as well," Rosalie added.

"Okay…so you guys don't harm humans and hunt animals," I said with a nod. "So on the sunny days you go 'camping' you're really out hunting?" I asked.

"Usually, it is a bit more of an extended trip…so in a twisted way it sort of is camping," Alice shrugged.

"But wouldn't you guys burn in the sun?" I asked.

"Urban legend," Edward said with a snort. "Our skin is a bit more…reflective."

"So you guys sparkle in the sunlight?" I asked, trying not to be rude and laugh at this knowledge.

"For the men, it is a bit emasculating when you glow like a kindergartener's mother's day present," Edward smirked.

"So what other myths are untrue?" I asked.

"We aren't affected by garlic," Mrs. Cullen started.

"Holy water either, believe me my father was a pastor," Dr. Cullen added.

"We don't sleep in coffins…or ever," Rosalie said. "Not that we don't try, our bodies just don't need to rest."

"We don't turn into bats," Alice stated.

"We don't have fangs either," Edward said. "Our teeth are sharp enough."

"Do vampires have mind control?" I asked.

"I haven't met any that do…" Dr. Cullen trailed off.

"So vampires do have other talents?" I questioned.

"They vary…"Bella trailed off.

"I have psychic visions," Alice volunteered. "That's how I knew you would want answers tonight."

"Jasper is an empath, so he can feel the emotions of others and change them as well," Esme said.

"Oof, poor Jasper," I said thinking of our hormone-laden school. "Is that why he always looked like he's in pain?"

"Partially," Edward said. "He's also the newest to drinking animal blood, so he tries to resist the call of human blood."

"Rosalie, do you have any special talents?" I asked.

"Besides fixing anything mechanical, nope no talents," Rosalie said. "I just get the fun parts of being pretty."

That caused me to laugh. Pretty was an understatement for Rosalie Hale; if Wilhelmina Modeling ever found out about her, every hot model would be out of a job.

"What about you, Edward?" I questioned.

"I can read people's thoughts…" He trailed off. "With the exception of Bella's."

"Well, I would like to take this time to apologize," I ducked my head down in embarrassment. Then I thought about the other part of what he said. "Wait, Edward seriously can't read your mind? That's gotta be helpful for surprising him."

"No he can't read me," Bella said. "We're actually still unsure of why he can't."

"So you're not related in any way, shape, or form?" I asked. I really needed to know dammit!

"No we're not," Edward answered. "Carlisle has lived this way the longest and he found me dying of Spanish Influenza. I was the first member of the family he changed."

"Didn't the Spanish flu take place in the early 1900s?" I asked. Edward nodded. "So you're really over 100 years old?" Another nod.

"So Dr. Cullen changed all of you?" I wondered.

"He changed Rosalie, Emmett and myself," Mrs. Cullen said. "Alice and Jasper had been changed by other vampires, but found their way to our family a few decades ago."

"Wow," I sighed.

"I know, it's a lot to take in," Bella tried to assure me.

"Well besides people either thinking you may watch one too many horror flicks or maybe needing to visit a psych ward, why didn't you say anything?" I asked her.

"Their existence isn't really supposed to be public knowledge," Bella said. "There's a governing body of vampires known as the Volturi that has one basic rule: stay inconspicuous."

"So what I know can't leave this room," I said in understanding.

"Exactly," Rosalie said. "Our family doesn't want to hurt anyone, we just want to live through our existence in peace."

"I totally understand," I said looking at the Cullens. "I promise your secret will be safe with me too, along with Jake's."

"I still can't believe he told you," Bella sighed angrily.

"Actually, he didn't," I told her. Six pairs of shocked eyes looked at me. "He just told me his side of imprinting and the reason why he turns into a wolf. I just put two and two together on why you all stayed so closed off. I guess it was so no one could get hurt."

"I'm surprised you aren't screaming and running for the hills," Rosalie said with an impressed tone. "You might be good for Jake after all."

"I'm really glad I'm sitting," I said. "Receiving praise from Rosalie Hale is a very dizzying experience."

"And to think, you got yours in one night…it took me almost a year," Bella said.

"I think Rosalie's going soft," Edward teased.

"The fact that I have feelings also never leaves this room," Rosalie glared at me.

"I have no idea what you're talking about," I jokingly assured her.

"Good," she answered. "So since we know the world isn't about to come to an end…what now?"

 **What now, indeed? I'm glad you've been enjoying the story thus far and thank you for all of your feedback (including guest user Amanda16-thank you for including your name!)**

 **Shout out to: AKSimons, Kelsey425, Matauty, moonwillow92, and for following the story and m0t0bb33 & Natasha Abarca1 for being my favoriting followers.**

 **Until next time,**

 **xoxo**


	27. Chapter 27

**A/N: Hey everybody, thank you so much for being patient as I tried to figure out where the story is heading. I hope you enjoy this latest chapter!**

 **I don't own _Twilight_ , but today's weather in my city was very inspiring to write!**

 _"My life and his were twisted into a single strand. Cut one, and you cut both. If he were gone, I would not be able to live through that. If I were gone, he wouldn't live through it, either."_  
 _― **Stephenie Meyer** , **Breaking Dawn**_

 **BPOV**

The wolves and the Cullens were supposed to start their training tonight, but Edward was feeling hesitant about Jessica and I being on our own, so Esme volunteered to call my father at the station and let him know that Rose and Alice wanted to do a girls night at the house instead. Jess got a call from her mother that she and her father decided to take an overnight trip to Tacoma, so not to be alarmed if she didn't see them at home.

In turn, she told her parents that I had asked if she could come stay the night after she came back from the reservation, so not to worry if she wasn't home in the morning. Carlisle went outside after that to let Cassandra know not to breathe when we came out of the house so she wouldn't be tempted by either of our blood.

Jess and I sat down on the deck while the Cullens gathered in their backyard waiting for the wolves to come.

"Are you two okay?" Rose asked as she sat down next to me.

"Yeah, it's just a lot to process in a day," Jess sighed next to me. "How did you handle it?"

"I didn't realize that they were vampires per se," I told her. "I just knew that there was something different about the family. The way they looked and the way they behaved interested me probably more than it should have."

"And we end up with this one stumbling into the family," Rose said with a wink in my direction.

"So instead of curiosity killing the cats, it got one adopted into a family of vampires and another to a pack of wolves," Jess said. "We officially have the strangest love lives ever."

The three of us had to share a laugh at that because let's face it: there really was nothing normal about the situation at all. Our laughter was cut short when we heard a howl cut through the night air.

"Speaking of your pack," Emmett began to joke. The pack came through the trees standing eight strong. Sam and Jake stood more towards the front, where everyone else hung back a bit further.

"Whoa," Jess breathed out next to me.

"It really is something isn't it?" I whispered back to her. Rose gently patted my shoulder and went across the yard to stand with the rest of the family. Edward looked in our direction and winked at me as an attempt to ease my nerves.

"Something must have changed in the last few months that he was gone," Jess said.

"What do you mean?" I asked her.

"I mean seeing Edward acting so casually," Jess said. "Usually he was more buttoned up, but now he's almost…I'm not sure how to describe it."

"He's opening up more," I said. "I think after everything that has happened to us, it's made us bring some of our walls down."

"Was he as bad off as you were?" Jess asked me.

"Yeah, it turns out he left because he wanted me to still be human. He didn't want to put my life in danger anymore," I admitted.

"Ugh, meaning you would have had to settle for Mike or Tyler," Jess pantomimed gagging. This caused me to start laughing.

"Oh God, I probably would have," I said, wiping a tear from my eye.

"I really owe you an apology," Jess said. "Knowing now, you literally were mourning a life you didn't think you would ever have, and I was so bitchy in thinking you were just being overdramatic and flaky."

"In fairness, I couldn't actually explain why" I responded.

"Even still, I should have been a better friend in that case, and I'm really sorry Bella," Jess said.

"Apology accepted," I said giving her a hug. After our heart to heart, we watched as our new adoptive families were beginning to train together to protect us and the town from whatever hell Victoria planned to bring.

 **EPOV**

The wolves and my family trained for about two hours that night. Jasper was detailed in how to approach a newborn with Cassandra being a very willing participant. Next to Cassandra, Emmett was the strongest comparable to a newborn, so he acted in that capacity as well. Jasper's instructions showed the wolves how to stay out of harm's way and for us the best ways to attack.

When I was on the sidelines, I would pay attention to both Jasper's teaching and to Bella and Jessica. While it wasn't an ideal situation that another human knew about our family, Jessica's thoughts were true in that she wouldn't reveal our family secret; ironically enough, I had Jacob to thank for that as well. Although he didn't expressly tell Jessica about us, he put it in her mind that not everything wasn't as it seemed. At least Bella would have someone in her life that actually understood her situation.

The girls sat together and were attempting to keep themselves awake. The wolves decided that they wanted to meet Jessica in human form before they went on patrol for the rest of the night. They went back into the forest to change so they could introduce themselves properly. Jacob was the first one out the trees and ran up to the deck to give Jessica a hug. He gave Bella a short embrace and he brought Jessica down the steps so that she could meet the rest of the pack.

I walked up to the deck to hold Bella close to me, even if she did have the faint scent of a wolf on her clothes now.

"Are you alright?" I asked her.

"As alright as I can be with an army of bloodthirsty vampires after me and the people I love," she sighed.

"We'll be careful," I promised her. "With Jasper's knowledge of training newborns and Cassandra knowing a bit of Victoria's plan, plus she's in the dark that the wolves are on our side there's no way she'll get to you."

"Even still, maybe I should still get out of Forks for a bit," Bella said, surprising me. "That way, you know that I'm safe from any fighting or Victoria catching me."

"You're finally going to use the tickets from Carlisle and Esme," I said with realization.

"I think it would be good for my mom to see me happy again," she explained. "I wasn't exactly in the best state of mind when she last came to visit. Plus, if I bring Jessica with me, Jake won't have to worry if she's safe too."

"There is one problem though," I said to her.

"I would miss you too," Bella responded as if she could read my mind. "But this way, you have no distractions during the fight and you'll know that I'm safe."

"You're right," I sighed.

"I could get used to hearing those words," Bella joked, causing me to laugh.

"Just promise me that once it's safe, you'll let me know that you're okay," Bella asked.

I kissed her on the temple. "I will, I promise," I told her.

We watched as the rest of the pack began to walk towards the woods, giving Jacob a few minutes alone with Jessica. I didn't mean to eavesdrop, but my hearing made it difficult not to.

" _So you officially know about the Cullens huh?" Jacob asked her_.

" _Yeah, I kind of put two and two together when you told me about you," Jessica responded._

" _I hope you're not mad at me…or Bella," he said to her._

" _I understand it wasn't either of your secrets to tell," Jessica answered him, surprising me. "The Cullens were honest with me about anything that would have confused me and I promised that their secret would stay safe with me."_

" _You know why you have to, right?" Jacob asked her._

" _It exposes both sides and I don't want people to be afraid of you or worse, an ancient group of vampires to come after us," Jessica winced._

" _How bad is this fight going to be?" Jessica asked with concern._

" _Considering she's been after Bella for near the better part of a year and has been creating an army to get to her, it's pretty bad," Jacob told her honestly._

" _You'll be careful, right?" Jessica asked him._

" _I will be," he told her. "I have a pretty good reason to stay safe."_

With that sentiment, Jessica reached up to kiss him and told him goodnight. He followed the rest of the pack into the woods near our house and Jessica came up the stairs.

Alice then proceeded to lead Jessica to hers and Jasper's room to give her a set of pajamas to sleep in and an extra toothbrush so that she could get comfortable. She then came up to my room to give Bella some pajamas as well so that she could change for bed. While Bella took a few 'human moments,' Rose came into my room.

"So Cassandra is volunteering to stay on watch all night so she won't be tempted by either of the girls," she informed me. "Carlisle, Esme, and Jasper volunteered for first watch; Emmett, Alice and I will relieve them after a while."

"I hate that you all have to be out here for this," I sighed.

"We're family, no matter what-that includes Bella," Rose reasoned with me. "If it were any of us in the same position, we know you would do the same thing for us."

"And Jessica?" I asked my sister with a raised brow.

"I'm glad Bella has someone outside of us to vent to," Rose said in an even voice. "I'm also not trying to be thrown to the wolves-literally."

This caused me to chuckle lightly. "Seriously, we want this to be over as much as you two do. If we have to do some patrolling, it's worth it," Rose added with a shrug.

For all of her acting with indifference, I knew Rosalie was the most protective of us all and for that I was grateful she was part of our family.

"Thank you," I told her. She gave me a pat on the shoulder and left out my room just as Bella was coming out of my bathroom. I opened my arms and Bella walked into my embrace. I gave her a kiss on the top of her head as she sighed.

"It's been a hell of a day," she said quietly. I chuckled at her statement.

"I feel like that's an understatement," I responded. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah," Bella responded. "I'm glad I had a chance to spend time with my dad today, I'm glad you and I were able to spend some time together," she paused to smile up at me and I smiled back at her. I'm glad we had time alone too. We definitely needed it.

"And even though I'm worried about how it can affect her too, in a strange way I'm glad that Jess knows about you," Bella added.

"It probably was a lot to keep that secret in, at least now you have someone to vent to," I agreed.

"So you're actually okay with the fact that Jessica knows?" Bella asked with a raised eyebrow.

"It's not the most ideal situation, but at least Jessica has the added protection of the wolves," I reasoned with her, and myself to be honest.

Bella nodded and leaned her head against my chest, right above my non beating heart.

"Tired?" I asked.

"Yeah," my love sighed.

Trying to bring a little levity back to the day, I gently threw her over my shoulder and carried her to bed. Her soft giggles let me know that was the right thing to do. I leaned over her and she pulled me down to cover her. I gently kissed her as she brought her hand to gently tug on my hair. _God, I missed her doing that_ , I thought to myself.

I eventually had to stop kissing her because I knew she'd never get to sleep and honestly, I wouldn't have wanted her to.

"I think that's really how I wanted to end the day," Bella looked up at me with a smile. I smiled back and rose up to let her get comfortable under the covers. Once she was settled, I climbed on top of the covers to lay next to her.

"Edward, will you be honest with me about something?" she asked as we faced each other.

"Of course, love," I responded, confusion probably coloring my tone.

"Did you not want to change be because you wouldn't like me as a vampire?" Bella asked while blushing.

"What would make you think that?" I asked her in a shocked tone.

"I was thinking that you fell in love with me as a human, so…"She trailed off.

"So you thought your becoming a vampire would make me not want you anymore," I realized.

"I know how ridiculous that sounds," Bella said shaking her head.

"It's not ridiculous for you to ask me that, Bella," I told her. "It truly wasn't you, it was my feelings about the matter that made me not want to change you."

"Like for example _,_ _I know you think that I have some kind of perfect, unyielding self-control, but that's not actually the case,"_ I told her. "If I were to change you myself, I would be torn between not draining you dry because you are my singer, and the fact that I caused you to be writhing in pain for up to three days. I would be worried that I was taking away your chance to have a different kind of life."

"Even with all the complications we've gone through, I know I wouldn't want anything different," Bella told me. "Sure, I would still graduate college, possibly toy with the idea of marriage, but I would always feel like there was something missing-like a piece of me was missing," she continued.

"I am glad to hear that is the reason. Honestly, _I thought- you were afraid I'd be too different. Like, I wouldn't be warm, or smell the same."_ She admitted to me.

"My feelings for you are unchanging," I told her. "While your scent would change a bit, I wouldn't be tempted in that way anymore. _And the sound of your heart," I continued. "It's the most significant sound in my world. I'm so attuned to it now, I swear I could pick it out from miles away. But neither of these things matter. This," I said, taking her face in my hands. "You. That's what I'm keeping. You'll always be my Bella, you'll just be a little more durable."_

She laughed lightly and curled up next to me, falling asleep within seconds. I kissed the top of her sleeping head, once again thanking whatever deity would let this amazing creature back into her life.

 **So I hope you guys enjoyed that slighty fluffier ending! Thank you to Whiterose210, 87, and Fangirl412 for favoriting the story; , HeavenlyDarkness, VryUnique, and Shmiggs for following the story; Merkurami, Anno1701, harleymaria, and Sromum for being my favoriting followers; aficionadoNYC for following the story and my author page; and finally, catlady91 for doing the all-over favoriting following of both the story and my author page.**

 **Until next time,**

 **xoxo**


	28. Chapter 28

**A/N: At this point, I'm sure you guys don't care about any excuses. Just thank you for being patient and I hope you enjoy this long overdue chapter!**

 **I don't own _Twilight_ , just this story :)**

" _It's twilight. It's the safest time of day for us. The easiest time. But also the saddest, in a way...the end of another day, the return of the night. Darkness is so predictable, don't you think?"_ _  
_ _―_ _ **Stephenie Meyer**_ _,_ _ **Twilight**_

 **BPOV**

The rest of the weekend went in a blur of training for the Cullens and the wolves. Jess decided that the two of us hang out in Port Angeles on Sunday so that we could have a "re-do" of the day we hung out a few months ago. This time we saw a comedy that actually made us laugh, we grabbed a bite at Bella Italia, she went with me to an indie bookstore so I could stock up again and I went with her to a vintage clothing store to give my opinion on some of her outfits.

Alice, of course, was disappointed that I didn't pick up something for me, but I reminded her that she had a closet full of clothes that I could sort through at any time. Edward was disappointed that we couldn't spend that time together considering the sun would be out tomorrow, but I reminded him that he needed to stay focused on how to beat Victoria.

I came home and watched the game with Charlie as we sat and ate pizza. He told me that things looked like they were beginning to calm down in Seattle, which was good news because he wouldn't have to stress himself out over the case soon. However, it was bad news because it meant Victoria was getting closer to coming to Forks.

I expressed these conflicting emotions to Edward after my father went to bed. I was looking for something to wear for school tomorrow as he sat on my bed.

"So he said that things are calming down?" Edward asked.

"Yeah, probably meaning there aren't as many people going missing anymore-but there's still a lot of families that won't have closure," I sighed. "Victoria is doing all this for someone who may not have even loved her like she believes."

"I understand what you mean: James was a predator and would use any tool at his disposal to get what he wanted," Edward said. "But do I think in his own twisted way, he might have cared for her? Maybe."

I gave up my frustrations in trying to find the one red shirt I was looking for and flopped down on my bed next to Edward.

"What's the matter?" he said stroking my hair.

"I can't find my red shirt," I mumbled. "I just got it a couple months ago and I only wore it once or twice and now it just disappeared."

As I was finishing the statement, Edward got a text from Alice.

 _ **I think I know how Victoria knew where to send Cassandra and her gang when Bella was nearly attacked.**_

Edward called her and put his phone on speaker so that I could hear too.

"Edward?" Alice said on the other line.

"Alice, did you see something?" Edward asked her.

"I saw them passing around Bella's scent," she explained.

"Was it a red shirt?" I asked her

"It looked like one," she sighed.

"That means they could have been in here with Charlie," I responded with a hollow voice.

"She had to have sent Riley," Edward surmised. "He would be the only one old enough to control his thirst considering he's been missing for about a year."

"That's still not comforting," I groaned.

"I think Victoria is going to move in pretty soon, so if I were you, Bella, I would see how your mom's schedule looks for Spring Break," Alice said.

"Okay, thanks, Alice," I sighed. Edward hung up after that and pulled me into his embrace.

"We'll be careful love," Edward promised me.

"I just hate the fact that any of you have to do this because of me," I told him.

Edward gently guided my face with his hand to have me look him in the eye.

"You're my mate," he told me. "I would do anything to keep you safe, plain and simple."

"But your family…" I started.

"Love you as much as I do," he finished. "Emmett's always ready for a fight, Alice is much more formidable than people give her credit for; Jasper has been through this before, but never for someone that he loves, and Rose's tenacity should make anyone run and take cover."

"What about Carlisle and Esme?" I asked.

"Although they detest violence, for you-they would be more than willing to let their natural senses take over," Edward said.

I snuggled in closer to Edward. I tried to put it out of my mind what was going on out there and just focus on the now.

"I really just want this to be over," I sighed.

"It will be," Edward promised with a kiss to my temple.

The next morning, I got ready for school with a promise to see Edward afterward. Charlie had already left for the station, leaving me a note to let me know that he would probably head down to the rez after his shift for a little while, so keep everything locked up and don't worry about dinner.

I got to school in a reasonable amount of time with a twinge of sadness that I wasn't going to see any of the Cullen's cars today. Instead, I met up with Jessica and Angela to talk about the remaining details for prom.

"So, we have the announcements for ticket sales starting this morning; I'm going to hang some of the flyers during my free period and study hall, and how are the decorations coming?" Angela rattled off.

"Decorations have my seal of approval," Jess told her. "I saw them on Sunday and they're absolutely gorgeous and perfect. How about the permit approval?"

I got an alert on my phone that Alice sent me a text.

 _You've got a permit approval! Talk w/ principal later ;)_

"I've just got to talk to the principal during my study hall, but I think we should be all set," I told them.

"Okay, we'll start up on ticket sales during lunch and see how everything goes from there," Jess said, finalizing the plan. We split up for our individual classes and eventually we got to lunch. The buzz around prom was pretty strong, thanks to the announcements made throughout the day. And with the buzz around prom, it meant people were feeling ambitious about their plans.

"So, the Cullens went camping again?" Angela asked as we watched someone do an elaborate "promposal".

"Yeah, they heard it would be pretty clear this weekend so they wanted to take advantage," I said.

"Hey ladies," Eric said walking up to the table.

"Hey Eric, how many tickets are you getting?" Jess asked.

"Two," he said proudly. "There's this girl I met in my SAT prep class who goes to St. Agnes that I'm gonna ask."

"Good for you, Eric," Angela said with a smile.

"So any fun plans for spring break?" Eric asked us.

"I don't know about fun, but I'm going on a mission trip to Haiti with my parents," Angela volunteered.

"I'm heading down to Florida to visit my mom and stepdad," I mentioned.

"As of now, nothing," Jess shrugged. "Maybe I'll just veg out that week."

"Well, I have an extra ticket," I said. "Why don't you come down to Florida with me?"

"Seriously?" Jess asked excitedly.

"Yeah, if you veg out anywhere-let it be on a sunny beach," I answered.

"I'm in!" Jess said.

We finished selling the tickets and started heading towards class.

"Hey, Angela-I'll catch up with you in a second. I wanna start getting some info from Bella about our trip to Florida," Jess said.

"Okay, I'll see you in class," Ang said with a wave.

Jess peeked around the corner and dragged me into the nearest girls' bathroom. She peeked under the stalls to make sure no one else was in there with us before she began talking.

"You don't want to talk about Florida do you?" I asked.

"I do because I thought Edward would be the one using that ticket," Jess said. "That woman that's after you, she's getting closer isn't she?"

"Yeah, she is," I admitted with a sigh. Jess's breathing began to get a little shaky because, like me, someone she cared about was about to put his in danger.

"Jess?" I asked.

"I'm sorry, it's just…" Jess trailed off.

"It's a lot to take in, I know," I reassured her with a hug.

"Do you really think they'll be okay?" Jess asked after I released her.

"Well Jasper has been showing them moves to avoid getting hurt," I started.

"How does he know so much about newborn vampires?" Jess asked me.

"This may not be the best conversation for right now," I whispered as a couple sophomore girls came into the bathroom.

"After school at your house then?" Jess asked me. I nodded and the two of us went to class.

Luckily for us, Angela had some last minute packing to do so Jess and I would be able to talk freely at my house. When we both pulled in, there was a yellow Porsche coupe sitting outside my house. When Jasper and Alice climbed out the car, I knew it was safe.

"Nice ride," Jess said coming up next to me.

"Well, my birthday was coming up and Edward felt like he owed me something pretty big for what I did in Italy, so…" Alice trailed off.

"So he got you the very car you 'borrowed'?" I asked.

"She did her best to act surprised," Jasper smirked.

"I can't help what I see," Alice retorted.

"So planning surprises for Alice are kind of null and void aren't they?" Jess asked.

"A little bit," Jasper shrugged. "But I still try to anyway."

"So you wanted to ask about Jasper's past?" Alice said.

"That's gotta weird you out on occasion, even with knowing the family secret," Jess said.

"Rarely," I shrugged. The four of us went into the house and sat down around my table.

"So before I joined the Cullens, I was a Major in the Texas Calvary during the Civil War," Jasper began. "I had ran away from home because my father didn't agree with the war in the first place. One night, I ran into a group of three immortal women-Maria, the leader saw something in me that she believed would be useful to her."

On hearing the name Maria, Alice let out a small snarl.

"Not a fan I take it?" Jess said.

"Let's just say she should hope she never crosses paths with me," Alice said darkly.

Jasper took her hand and calmed her before he carried on. "Once she turned me, it turned out that the natural charisma that I had when I was still human, had turned me into an Empath. She decided that she wanted to create an army in the South."

"An army for what?" Jess and I asked.

"She wanted to claim different territories along the south; along the way, she wanted me to train the different newborns that she created. If they failed her in any way or she felt their loyalty wavering, she had me kill them," Jasper said sadly.

"That must have been hard on you," I said.

"It got to the point that I couldn't be around the constant cycle of blood and violence," Jasper said sadly. "I left and wandered for a few years with a couple-Peter and Charlotte. Then, one day in a little diner in the middle of nowhere, I met Alice."

"You kept me waiting long enough," Alice nudged him.

"Well, I'm sorry ma'am," Jasper smiled fondly at her. "My life changed completely that day. _I took her hand and for the first time, I felt hope._ I don't know where or what I would be without her."

"I'm happy that you were able to find a better path, Jasper," Jess said.

"Thank you, Jessica," Jasper smiled at her. "But I can sense that you're worried."

"I am," she admitted. "Will this really work?"

"It will," he assured her. "It's the first time I've worked with wolves, but the idea is still the same. I promise we'll all do our best to protect each other."

"Thank you," Jess breathed.

"Alice, have you been able to see anything?" I asked her.

"The day after you leave, she'll come for us," Alice said. "Meaning she hasn't been looking as clearly as I thought she would."

"But why wouldn't she come earlier?" I asked. "Not that I want her to."

"She realizes she's been getting sloppy, so she's giving each one a chance to 'be found' to give their families closure. Not out of kindness, but to cover her own ass," Alice said.

"So what do we do now?" Jess asked.

"For now, just continue to act as normal as possible," Jasper said.

"That's should be easy," Jess sighed. I nodded my agreement.

I called Charlie to let him know that the Cullens 'came back early' from their camping trip and that they had invited me over for dinner. He said that was fine and that he might just stay at Billy's for the night.

"Yay! Impromptu sleepover!" Alice cheered.

"Lucky," Jess jokingly pouted.

"When this is all over, maybe we can do a proper girls' night," Alice told her. "Well, as proper as one can be with two vampires that don't eat or sleep," she added when she noticed Jess' disbelieving stare.

"Well, I better head home," Jessica said. "I might be asking a lot, but..."

"We don't mind following you home to make sure you're safe, Jess," Alice smiled kindly at her.

"Plus, I think Jacob would gladly kill us if we didn't," Jasper added.

Alice went to do a quick security sweep upstairs while grabbing a few of my things and the four of us left my house. We made it to Jessica's without any incident and with a promise to call her so we can talk about spring break plans, we left to head back to the Cullen's house

Twilight was really beginning to set in when we pulled up to the house. Edward was waiting for me on the bottom stair and was by my side in a flash when I had fully put the car in park. He hugged me to him as tightly as he could without injury to me and I did the same.

"I missed you today," He whispered as he kissed me against the temple.

"I missed you too," I whispered back.

"Aww, they're so sweetly nauseating," Emmett said wiping a pretend tear from his eye.

"Way to ruin the moment, babe," Rose said with a playful roll of her eyes. "Esme has been cooking all day, so you might be set for a couple days."

"She knows it's just Charlie and me, right?" I laughed in astonishment.

"Oh, I know," Esme said from the door. "But, I like to make sure my family is well taken care of and that includes the two of you as well."

I tried to hide that my eyes were tearing up before I came into the house, but Edward sweetly squeezed my hand to let me know that it was okay.

I went in to wash up for dinner and Edward set up a table on the outer deck for me.

"I thought you might want to dine under the stars tonight," He said as he pulled out my chair for me.

"Well, thank you kind sir," I jokingly curtsied and went to sit down. We talked about what happened during school today and some more about the training that the family went through while they were gone today.

Once I finished my dinner, Edward suggested that we watch a movie with the family because they missed spending time with me too. All of the couples snuggled up together as we watched Rose's pick of "The Apartment."

I wasn't sure when the movie ended, but when I woke up Edward was gently laying me on our bed.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to fall asleep," I said as I stretched.

"It happens," he smiled at me. "I don't think you even made it all the way through the first act."

"Lovely," I sighed. "I'm sure Emmett was having a field day."

"Rose threatened bodily harm if he messed with you in any way," Edward laughed.

"Thanks, Rose," I said.

"You're welcome!" She called up, causing Edward and I to laugh.

"So what happens now?" I sighed.

"Now, you get some sleep and we'll worry about what happens with Victoria," Edward said.

"I know you're worried about what can happen to us, but I promise you don't need to," he added.

"It's hard not to," I admitted. "I know you can handle yourselves, but vengeance has been what's kept Victoria going for almost a year. I still get nervous that Jasper's training may not be enough."

"I have something to show you," Edward said. He got up and grabbed something off the top shelf of his closet. It looked small like a jewelry box from what I can see. He sat next to me again on his bed and looked me in the eye.

"This was my mother's," he began to explain to me. "I had thought about this before I left, but my pride kept me from even thinking about this anymore."

He opened the box to reveal a beautiful golden ring with a larger diamond in the middle and smaller diamonds encircling it.

"It's beautiful," I said.

"I know that I want a future with you, Bella," Edward said to me. "And if it weren't for the fact that you'd think I'm insane, I'd ask you to marry me right now. I just wanted to show you this because while she's fighting for vengeance, I'm fighting for us."

I kissed him to show the emotions I couldn't formulate into words and just simply said, "I love you."

"As I love you," he said to me. Without changing clothes, we just laid in bed together. Just before I drifted to sleep for the rest of the night, I whispered, "I am glad you're waiting to ask me though."

He chuckled lightly and I fell asleep feeling secure about the situation at hand.

 **Thanks so much again for your patience guys! Hopefully, I'll be back sooner than later and for the new followers and favoriters-I'll shout you out next chapter I promise!**

 **Until next time,**

 **xoxo**


	29. Chapter 29

**A/N: You're all beautiful, amazing humans and I'm not worthy of your patience! However, thank you for waiting and I hope you enjoy this chapter. I've got a double dose of shout-outs to do at the end so bear with me!**

 **I don't own _Twilight,_ Christmas shopping would be a lot easier if I did though! ;)**

" _I miss you," I whispered._

 _"I know, Bella. Believe me, I know. It's like you've taken half my self away with you."_ _  
_ _"Come and get it, then," I challenged._ _  
_ _"Soon, as soon as I possibly can. I_ _will_ _make you safe first."_ _His voice was hard._ _  
_ _"I love you," I reminded him._ _  
_ _"Could you believe that, despite everything I've put you through, I love you, too?"_ _  
_ _"Yes, I can, actually."_ _  
_ _"I'll come for you soon."_ _  
_ _"I'll be waiting."_ _  
_ _―_ _ **Stephenie Meyer**_ _,_ _ **Twilight**_

 **EPOV**

Now that Bella had a better intention of why she shouldn't worry about us fighting, there's been an air of calm before the storm. Jacob and Jessica have been getting closer within the last couple of weeks; she had even managed to convince the pack members to help set up for prom. Training was going smoothly and I felt that we had learned as much as we could. Now we had been leaving in pairs to hunt with a wolf or two to watch out for us to keep our strength up for the battle. Alice remained vigilant in her search for Victoria; she even had Bella and Jessica bring over their clothes and tickets just in case they need to leave sooner than later.

During one of the few moments we've had alone lately, Bella opened up to me about seeing the school counselor and talking to her about how our relationship was progressing.

"I was afraid to tell you," Bella admitted. "I thought you would be upset."

"I'm sorry that I ever would have made you feel that way," I told her. "You definitely needed a neutral party you could talk to about this. So how do you feel?"

"I'm starting to feel more stable," Bella told me. "We've been a lot more open with how we feel and a lot more willing to compromise; that's honestly all I've ever wanted."

I held her close to me and kissed her on the temple. "I'm sorry I ever made you feel like you couldn't talk to me," I expressed to her.

"It's partially my fault too," Bella said. "I shouldn't have been afraid to speak up."

"Well, at least we can both figure this out together," I reassured her.

The next day, we did a double date with Jacob and Jessica in Port Angeles; surprisingly, it was a lot more fun than I thought it would be. We perused a vintage record shop, went to the local arcade, found an independent bookstore, and found a vintage store where Jessica found the last of the decorations she wanted to use for prom.

After a few hours together, we decided to head to Bella Italia where the three of them could recharge with some food. Bella ordered the mushroom ravioli, which reminded me of how this should have really been the first date we went on.

"I've gotta ask," Jacob said after he finished chewing a rather large meatball. "Does the smell of food ever bother you since you don't have to eat in the traditional sense?"

"It's not a bother, really," I told him. "We just don't have the desire to eat like anyone else when the scent of food hits us."

"So does the scent of food do anything for you guys?" Jessica asked.

"Sometimes it reminds us of a certain aspect of our lives," I answered.

"Like what?" Bella piped in interestedly.

"Well, whenever I smell fresh baked cookies-I think of my mother baking for special occasions like Christmas or my birthday," I said with a sad smile.

"Do you ever miss your birth parents?" Jacob asked.

"I do," I admitted. "My memories of them tend to fade more and more as the years pass, but I always wonder if they would be proud of me."

"I'm sure they would be," Bella said taking my hand. Jessica and Jacob gave reassuring smiles and the three of them continued on with their meals.

Shortly after the bill was paid and we were coming out of the restaurant, Alice came up to us.

"Alice, what are you doing here?" I asked.

"We have a problem," she said. "The vision with Victoria changed."

"How much sooner is she coming?" Jacob asked.

"About six hours from now," Alice revealed.

"Meaning?" Bella and Jessica asked.

"Meaning we should have gotten the two of you out of here yesterday," Alice said. "Bella, I need your car keys."

Bella handed them over to her; Jasper and Emmett were already out grabbing the girls' bags out the trunk of Emmett's Jeep.

"Don't worry about Charlie, Billy's calling him for an impromptu fishing trip," Alice assured her.

"We've also told him that the weather would be a little rougher when you two were supposed to be leaving in Florida, so you wanted to head out a little earlier," Emmett added.

"What about your parents, Jessica?" Jasper asked.

"They left for a cruise a couple of days ago," she replied. "I can just give them a call to let them know we made it in okay."

"We know you're going to want a chance to say good-bye, so you two ride up with them," Alice said.

After my brothers and Alice said their good-byes, we rode to the airport in a tense silence. Once we were out of the car and the girls were nearing the checkpoint, Jessica tearfully turned towards Jacob and clung to him.

"What if I don't see you again?" Jessica asked Jacob in a panicked voice.

"You'll see me again, I promise," He whispered as he kissed her lightly on the forehead.

Bella turned towards me, trying to keep her own tears at bay.

"Remember what you promised me," Bella said before kissing me soundly on the lips.

"We'll be safe I promise," I told her.

"I love you," she whispered to keep her voice from breaking.

"As I love you," I told her.

 _Now boarding flight 1425 to Jacksonville, FL at Gate 3b,_ we heard over the P.A system.

Jessica reached up to kiss Jacob one more time before turning and coming in mine and Bella's direction.

"I should say bye to Jake," Bella tried to avoid looking into my eyes so I couldn't see the tears that were forming. While Bella went to hug Jacob tightly, Jessica looked me in the eye.

"Edward, this is a lot for me to ask-especially since we just started talking regularly," Jessica said. "But promise me you'll look out for Jake."

"I will, Jessica," I promised her.

"And you be careful too," she added. "I saw how bad Bella was when you were gone, I don't know how she'll handle it if anything were to happen to you."

"Jessica, I promise you we're all going to come out of this okay," I assured her.

 _Now boarding flight 1425 to Jacksonville, FL at Gate 3b,_ the P.A system repeated.

"You girls better go," I said. "You don't want to miss your flight."

Jessica surprised me by giving me a tight hug. The girls took one last look at the two of us and left for their gate. Jacob and I stood in silence as we watched the two most important women in our lives disappear for safety. We walked to Bella's car and started to drive back towards Forks. I noticed Jacob's leg was shaking constantly so I pulled near the closest wooded area that I could find.

He looked at me in confusion and I just shrugged my shoulders. "You look like you could blow off some steam," I told him.

He nodded in appreciation. "I'll see you back in Forks," he said as he got out of the car, nearly vibrating with every step he took until I saw the giant red wolf take over.

I pushed Bella's car a little bit past the legal limits to get back to my family home where I saw Alice pacing back and forth.

"Alice?" I asked in a worried tone.

"I'm fine," she said. "I'm just trying to keep watch on a lot at the same time."

"What can you see?" I asked her.

"Victoria's army is on the move, they'll be coming by nightfall," Alice announced.

"The girls?" I asked her.

"They land safe and sound at 8:30 East coast time," She said with a small smile. "Renee looks really glad to see her and she's pretty excited to meet Jessica."

"Have Rosie, Esme, and Cassandra gotten back yet?" Emmett asked.

"Wait, where are they?" I asked him.

"They ran to try and draw Victoria to our baseball field while wearing some of Bella's clothes with her scent," Emmett said. "Hopefully it turns out better than when we tried to distract James so that she could get away."

We heard howling in the distance, alerting us that Jake and the pack were drawing near. Around that time, Rose, Esme, and Cassandra were coming back after running.

"Are you sure this will work this time, Ali?" Rose asked.

"The newborns know that we protect her, so it won't necessarily throw them off like it did with James," Alice said.

"We'd better change before we head back to the field," Esme said. "I would hate for Bella's clothes to be ruined."

"Knowing Alice, she probably has a new wardrobe waiting for Bella when she gets back," Cassandra joked.

"That's true," Alice said. "But with you keeping her clothes on, the scent will travel just a little bit longer and convince them she's there with us."

Carlisle pulled in shortly after and came up to the rest of us.

"How much longer do we have, Alice?" he asked her. She shut her eyes for a brief moment and answered Carlisle.

"We have about two hours before they come to the clearing," Alice responded. "We may have a chance to hunt quickly for one last burst of energy before they come."

"How will the wolves know where to find us?" Carlisle asked.

"My vision just went dark, so they should be here any second," Alice answered.

With that, Carlisle ran into the house and changed quickly. The pack came into our backyard and we explained the situation to them. Jacob mentally assured me that they would keep watch so that we would be able to hunt. We ran together and separated into pairs so some could hunt while the others kept watch. In no time at all we finally made it to the clearing.

"You should hang back further in the trees," Jasper suggested to the wolves. "We still need that element of surprise."

The wolves nodded in understanding and backed into the trees. Alice did her best to keep watch with the wolves being near, but eventually gave up and relied on her other senses.

"They're coming up fast," Jasper said. "I can sense everything: their bloodlust, rage, confusion, and even some fear."

"I'm ready," Emmett said, flexing his muscles.

"Bring 'em on," Rose said stretching her neck.

 _In case anything happens to me, please don't forget the promise your family made me_ , Cassandra thought as she prepared to face the army with us.

We heard the rush before they had even come through the trees; twenty-two vampires in total came rushing towards us as we prepared to end this nightmare once and for all.

 **BPOV**

The flight itself was smooth as Jessica and I were currently fleeing for our lives. I hated that it felt like I couldn't do anything; I felt even guiltier that Jess ended up involved in this. Fate must love hints of irony because just as Edward and I were getting closer, it seemed like we could be torn apart again by something much worse than distance; and Jacob found the one he couldn't live without just as he promised to protect me.

Jess and I had been sitting in silence for the first two hours of the flight; I don't think either of us knew what to say to the other. Really, what could I say to her?

 _Sorry for introducing you to someone that's risking his life for me because I started this whole thing by falling for the right person at the wrong time?_ Yeah, that doesn't cut it at all.

"Bella?" Jess finally broke the silence.

"Yeah?" I said back brilliantly. She finally looked away from the window and looked towards me.

"Do you really believe that they'll be okay?" she asked me as I looked at her tear-stained face.

"This army is going to be strong because they're newer vampires, but we're with two people who have stronger reasons to stay alive," I told her. "I have to believe that they'll be okay because I can't imagine Jacob not being around and while I'm getting better, the thought of Edward being gone permanently…" I trailed off, trying not to let the hole in my heart form again.

"I told him that," Jess admitted, surprising me. "Just before we left the airport, I told Edward to be careful because I'd hate to see you the way you were back in September or even worse," she continued.

I just sat in silence at that point, because I was surprised that Jess had even spoken to Edward before we left, let alone that she would ask him that.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to…" Jess started to say when she must have taken my silence for anger.

"No, no, it's okay," I smiled at her. "Thank you; I think sometimes he needs an outside perspective."

She nodded and we both let out huge sighs, a lot of thoughts swirling through our heads that neither of us wanted to say. Jess looked back out the window and I looked up at the ceiling of the plane.

Even though she was whispering, I could still here Jess say, "I really hope our boys make that red-headed bitch suffer."

 **As do I, Jess! As do I...**

 **Well, thank you guys again for being patient with this chapter. I was going back and forth on if I was actually going to add the big fight, but I decided to make that it's own chapter, which I plan to start working on soon and hopefully will be up either around Christmas, but definitely before the year ends!**

 **And since I realized that I didn't do the usual shout outs to new followers and favoriters last chapter I have a lot of ground to cover so bear with me!**

 **Thank you to my new favoriters: JazzofPalePhoenix, ShinyHappyPeopleHoldingHands, and Sromum making a second appearance in the thank yous ;)**

 **Thank you to the new story followers: skyfalletta1, lexy1986, hopeisfound, Flute1516, TrueFanV, Anira Back, sujari6, DutchGirl01, and RunningWithNemo :)**

 **And finally, thank you to my favoriting followers: lisamccool388, ShellyBlackRoz, and AriaRain.**

 **Until next time,**

 **xoxo**


	30. Chapter 30

**A/N: Happy New Year, All! I was hoping to get this up before 2017 was over, but what better way to start 2018 with a bit of conflict resolution? I hope you all enjoyed your holiday and got everything you wanted :)**

 **I don't own _Twilight_ , but I do have a few new books and songs to pour over ;)**

" _When you live for the fight, for the blood, the relationships you form are tenuous and easily broken."_ _  
_ _―_ _ **Stephenie Meyer**_ _,_ _ **Eclipse**_

 **JacobPOV**

The roars of the newborns met our ears as we prepared to face them. Jasper nodded to his family and they began to charge towards them. The newborns had a look on confusion on their faces when they saw that the owner of the scent they were following wasn't there. That lack of focus allowed for the Cullens to gain the upper hand during the fight.

Jasper truly knew what he was talking about, taking two down at the same time. Rosalie, who always looked so put together looked really in her element as she and Emmett double teamed one newborn. The biggest surprise to me was Alice; to be so tiny, I'm glad she was on our side. She was almost a blur as she basically danced across the field, leaving three of the newborns down for the count.

We were starting to get kind of antsy when Seth noticed that one of the newborns was going for Esme.

 _Watch your back, little brother,_ Leah thought as Seth charged out and knocked the newborn out with a swipe of his paw. The newborn tried to grab Seth's muzzle, instead he had his arm ripped off and Seth finished him off. And just like that, we were in the fight.

 **EPOV**

Seth's arrival on the field signaled the rest of the wolves to come out on the field. Carlisle and I were going to owe Seth big for protecting Esme. It was rare to see Carlisle let his true nature out, but it was truly a sight to behold. Even for all of her sweetness, Esme was a force to be reckoned with as well. The two of them worked together to bring down several newborns together.

Emmett, Rose and I were in the heat of fighting off six newborns. Emmett launched Rose over the heads of two newborns and as they were distracted, we ripped off their heads. Rose landed and grabbed the arms of one newborn that tried to grab her and ripped them off. Cassandra was holding her own against her former family as well, using her strength to her advantage as well as getting some help from Leah.

Alice was charging through the newborns with ease, luring the wolves over so that they could take over some of the kills.

 _She's here,_ Alice thought. My gaze caught a flash of red in the trees and there she stood in all of her hatred: Victoria.

 **BPOV**

 _We are beginning our descent into Jacksonville,_ the flight attendant announced as they began to remind everyone to put their seat back in the upright position and buckle their seatbelts for landing.

"Bella, is your mom going to know we're here?" Jessica asked.

"Knowing Alice, there's some way my mom learned we're coming," I said, reassuring her we wouldn't be stranded at the airport. Once we landed and the plane began to let passengers off, we grabbed our luggage from the overhead compartments and followed the others.

We walked towards the escalators and rode down to see my mom standing with a sign that said "Bella and Jessica" with little hearts surrounding it.

"There's my girl!" my mother cooed and hugging me as I walked over to her.

"Hi mom," I said as brightly as I could because of the situation.

"I'm so happy you came to visit," Renee said taking a better look at me. "And it's nice to meet you too, Jessica."

"It's nice to meet you, Mrs. Dwyer," Jess said, being surprised by a hug from my mom.

"Oh, Renee please," my mom said. "Are you girls hungry? There's this great Mexican place not too far from the house."

"Sure," we said and my mother constantly talked to us, thankfully being the best distraction for why we were really here.

 **EPOV**

Victoria glared from across the field as she saw my family dismantle her army. She came striding towards me until she broke out in a full sprint. I ran towards her and the two of us collided. She rolled on top of me and tried to pin me down.

"Where is she?" Victoria spat at me, trying to cut my air supply. She was momentarily distracted when she heard another vampire call her name as a plea for help. I looked and recognized Riley Biers right before Seth and Leah finished tearing him apart.

"You'll never lay your eyes or a hand on her," I said gaining the momentum and pining her to the ground. I tried taking her head off just by my hand, but she put her knee in my side and pushed me off of her.

"Maybe I've been going about this all wrong," Victoria said as she took a swing at me. I blocked and kept circling her.

"Maybe it's you that I should kill first, so that your last dying thought will be that I could roam this world for as long as I damn well please and could kill her anytime the mood struck me," Victoria said trying to gain the upper hand again by reaching for my throat. I grabbed her arm and twisted her shoulder out of place.

"As if I needed any more reason to kill you," I growled. I tried ripping her arm from its socket when she flipped over and tried pining me to the ground again. As I felt her try to rip my head from my body, her weight was gone and I saw Jacob tackle her to the ground. Jake tried to snap at her neck but she struck him across the muzzle and sent him a couple feet across the field.

Jake shook his head to clear himself as Victoria was coming for me again.

 _Edward, you go low and I'll go high,_ Jacob thought following behind her. I nodded quickly to let him know I heard him and ran towards Victoria. As she jumped to try and attack me, I dove for her legs while Jacob jumped into the air and took the top half of her body in one clean shot. She laid on the ground unmoving and I took the lighter out of my pocket to set the body on fire.

My family, Cassandra, and the wolves began to gather the pieces of the other newborns and added on to the flames.

"Jeez, to think I could have been in there," Cassandra winced. "Thanks again for sparing me, you guys."

"Well, you did tell us what we needed to do in order to beat Victoria," Rose said.

"And a deal's a deal," Alice added. "We'll help you figure out a way to cover for your death with your parents."

"Thank you," Cassandra answered sadly.

Alice gasped suddenly. "The Volturi are coming," she announced.

"How long until they come?" Emmett asked.

"About five minutes," Alice answered. "You guys should probably clear out of here. Meet us back at the house, we'll be there soon," she directed towards Cassandra and the wolves. The pack and Cassandra nodded and cleared out of the field, leaving our family to deal with the members of the Volturi.

Five minutes later, as Alice said, we were met by Alec, Jane, Felix, and Demetri. The four of them made a production of removing their hoods at the same time.

"Well, it looks like you had quite a fight on your hands," Jane said in lieu of a greeting as she looked at the piles of burning vampire flesh.

"Nothing that we couldn't handle," Jasper said confidently.

"Speaking of things that your family was thought to handle, I don't see Edward's supposed mate here," Jane continued in her usual bored tone. "Does that mean she's actually been eliminated?"

"No," Alice answered. "However, do inform Aro that a date has been set for her transformation."

"Well, be sure to be quick about it," Jane said. "Remember, _the Volturi don't give second chances_." Jane took one last look around the field and there was nothing else of note to her.

"I'm tired of this," Jane said to her cohorts. "I'd like to go home."

The production of their hoods took place once more, and the four of them walked back through the forest the same way they came. My family breathed a collective sigh of relief as we took another look around us.

"It's finally over, little bro," Emmett said clapping me on the shoulder. I grabbed his hand and smiled at him in thanks.

"Thank you," I told him. "All of you," I added for my family.

"You would have done the same for any of us," Rose said. As luck would have it, the rain began to come down, beginning to douse the flames and the remaining ashes of the newborns. Once we saw that Victoria and her army were no more, we ran back to the house to meet with the pack and Cassandra.

 **JacobPOV**

I paced back and forth on the Cullens' lawn as we waited for them to return.

"Careful, Jake," Cassandra said. "Esme will have your ass if you cause a groove in her lawn."

"I know, I know," I said. "But it shouldn't have taken them this long, right?"

"Maybe there was more that needed to be discussed?" Sam said, still thinking like an alpha.

"Maybe one of us should have stayed with them?" Jared asked.

"No, those other leeches would have caught our scents for sure," Leah said.

"I'm with Jake, it shouldn't have taken that long," Paul said.

"If one of us is careful, maybe we can go back and check," Seth suggested.

"Won't be necessary," Jasper drawled as the Cullens appeared in their front lawn.

"Man, we were starting to worry about you guys," Quil said.

"What happened?" Embry asked.

"The usual Volturi bullshit; we don't offer second chances to those who break the rules, blah blah blah," Emmett said rolling his eyes.

"I'm guessing the second chances thing was about Bella," I said. Edward nodded solemnly and looked towards Alice.

"Yeah, I may have said that we have the date set for her to be changed," Alice admitted.

We all looked around in confusion. "So when would she be changed?" Seth asked. I had a feeling it would really hurt him, he was starting to see Bells as a second big sister.

"After her graduation," Alice said.

"That soon?" Sam asked.

"From college," Alice said with a smirk. "The Volturi won't check on us for a while since they know that Bella will be changed eventually. They'll check to see how she's adjusting to life as a vampire, and by then she'll already be five years into it."

"So you mean they may not check on you for almost a decade?" Cassandra said.

"Looks that way," Alice said with a smile.

Edward and I looked at each other in relief. The girl we loved in different ways still got to be herself for a little while longer.

 **Well, Goodbye Icky Vicky! It wasn't nice knowing ya ;)**

 **Now it really will be about 2-4 more chapters (including the epilogue) to finish this story up. I'm so proud of it, but for this particular stage-the story is coming to a close. However it does mean, that the sequel should be coming up sooner than we think! The plan is still the same: I'll wait until a good chunk of it is finished before I begin to post, so hopefully you have me on Author Alert or the story in Story Alert. I'll make the announcement of _What Now?_ the last "chapter" of this tale.**

 **1st thank yous of the new year go to: Ynaffit9885, Shmiggs, vampyrelover2, jiggles23123, and Werefoxz for favoriting the story; insisiv1, LadyCraft, SugarQueen93 and MickeyMC for following the story; Disneymom64 for favoriting and following the story; QueenElsaSalvatore for following the story and myself; and last but certainly not least, edwar4dlover84 and 1WhoLoves2ReadAlot for following and favoriting the story and myself. You guys are the best and I'm looking forward to another great year with all of you :)**

 **Until next time,**

 **xoxo**


	31. Chapter 31

**A/N: Hello? Bueller? Bueller? I kid, but I know I've been MIA since the beginning of the year. A lot of family issues, working on another project and new job changes...it's been a lot. Thank you guys for your patience :)**

 **I don't own _Twilight_ , 2 out of 3 of the above mentioned issues wouldn't have been issues if I did!**

" _You make your own kinds of mistakes, and I'm sure you'll have your share of regrets in life. But commitment was never your problem, sweetie. You have a better chance of making this work than most forty-year-olds I know. My little middle-aged child. Luckily, you seem to have found another old soul."_ _  
_ _―_ _ **Stephenie Meyer**_ _,_ _ **Breaking Dawn**_

 **BPOV**

"So, how is school going for you girls?" Renee asked us as we sat in one of the spare guest rooms in her and Phil's house. It was perfect for her: right near the beach, open space so that she could entertain, a spacious room in the house to paint and plenty of room outside for the same.

"It's going okay," Jess offered. "I think we're glad mid-terms are over and we have a break before finals."

"Anything new and exciting for you, Bella?" Renee asked me.

"I joined yearbook recently," I told her. "I've been having a lot of fun learning the different layouts and helping with editing."

"Speaking of helping, she really came through on an eleventh hour miracle for prom," Jess added.

"My Bella helping with prom?" Renee asked in surprise. "Baby, I thought you hated dances or really bringing any attention to yourself."

"Well the second is definitely still true," I said. "But it is senior year and I feel like I was sleep walking for the first half of it; I figured jumping into as much as I could sort of makes up for it."

"You were in pretty bad shape, honey," Renee agreed.

"I'll give you two some privacy," Jessica volunteered. "I'm gonna try giving my parents a call again. Thank you again for letting me stay, Renee."

"It's absolutely no trouble, honey," Renee waved off. Jessica gave us some space and went to the other guest room.

"I like her, she seems like a sweet girl," Renee said.

"She's been a great friend the last couple of months," I said honestly. Now that everything was out in the open with the Cullens between us, we've actually bonded closer together.

"Be honest with me, how do you feel now that the Cullens are back?" Renee asked.

"It was a little shocking at first, but we're all working through it," I told her. "Edward and I are really trying to take our time getting to know each other again."

"That's good to hear, but are you happy?" Renee asked.

"Yeah, I am," I admitted. "Even though I was in really bad shape, I think we needed that time apart. We had to grow up and realize what we want for any future we may have together."

"Okay," Renee sighed softly. "It's just your my only baby and I want what's best for you; there are times I have to remember you are legally an adult now. You've been my little old soul all these years, but you still had some growing up to do."

"You're not kidding," I said laying down on the bed. Renee lied next to me like she used to do when we lived in Phoenix.

"I really missed you, Mom," I said looking at her.

"I've missed you too, baby," Renee said looking at me. "I'm just so happy to see you looking like yourself again. When I saw you in October, you looked like this hollow shell and it broke my heart."

"I truly hope you and Edward make it through, sweetheart. I couldn't bear to see you that way again," Renee said with a sniffle.

I turned to hug my mother, partially to comfort her and partially to apologize for her having to see me that way.

"I hope so too," I told her. We sat up and talked for a little while longer until I couldn't suppress my yawns anymore.

"Alright, I see the travel is catching up to you," Renee said. She gave me a kiss on my temple and got up from my bed.

"I'll talk to you in the morning sweetheart," Renee said.

"Goodnight, mom," I said cozying up under the covers. I fell into a fitful sleep, hoping that I hadn't lost any family members tonight.

 **EPOV**

"How are they, Alice?" I asked her. Jake and Seth stayed behind while the rest of the pack went back to La Push. Rosalie, Carlisle, and Emmett were out with Cassandra to help her stage her "death" so that she could finally give her parents closure.

Jasper sat near Alice's feet, strumming a guitar lazily. Esme was in the kitchen, fixing the wolves something to eat.

"They're fine," Alice said with a content smile. "Bella and Renee got a chance to catch up; Jessica spoke with her parents so they know she's safe in Florida."

"Right now, they're sleeping. I'll text Bella tomorrow to let her know that we're alright and to for the two of them to enjoy their time there," Alice continued.

"Wait, why wouldn't you say it's safe for them to come home?" Jake asked anxiously, basically echoing my own thoughts. Jasper sent a shot of calm our way and we relaxed.

"For Jess's part, she would have been home alone for most of her vacation no matter how long you tried to keep her out during the day, Jake," Alice said. "And I don't think Billy is that progressive that he would let you stay the night there or Jess spend the night at your house."

"Fair point," Jake sighed.

"And Edward, the last time Renee saw Bella was right after we left," Alice explained to me. "She needs to have that time with her mother so she can see that she's genuinely okay this time."

"Why do I have a feeling there's something you're not telling me?" I asked her.

"Renee wanted to show Bella some options for college down in Florida," Alice sighed. As I was about to interject, Alice put her hand up to stop me. "Bella says no, of course, because she's made up her mind about UNH. She has to stay down there so Renee can see in her face it's truly her decision to go there because she wants to, not because we'll be in neighboring schools."

"Edward, I can promise you this: your relationship has gotten so much stronger," Jasper said. "When we first came back, all I could sense from Bella was distrust, hurt, and anger. Since you two have been more open in your conversations now, I can't sense anything like that from her."

"She has gotten better," Jake chimed in. "The couple times that we've all hung out together, she seems so happy that she almost has a physical glow coming from her. I actually see my friend again and not some broken shell that looked and sounded like her."

"So I just have to exercise patience for the next six days," I said. "I can do that."

Alice, Jasper, Jake, and even Seth gave me skeptical glances.

"What?" I asked. "I waited almost 90 years to meet her, and because of my own stupidity, seven months away from her and another month and a half to get back to a better place with her. I think I can handle another six days."

Jasper and Alice shared a look again and Jake took notice.

"What do you have up your sleeve, Pix?" Jake asked.

"So maybe it'll be four days…" Alice trailed off as she pulled a pair of airline tickets out from behind her back.

"There's a tour of UNH for prospective students going on Wednesday," Jasper said. "Renee is going to want to visit the campus for herself so she knows Bella is truly okay going there."

"From there you guys can drive to New York and Jessica can check out NYU's campus," Alice said. "You'll all fly back in that Saturday night."

"I don't know what to say," Jake said looking happy at his ticket.

"You're welcome," Alice said with a wink.

"I should remember to never underestimate you, little sister," I told her giving her a kiss on the forehead.

"Yeah, you're just lucky I love you," Alice said.

"Jake, Seth, dinner's ready," Esme said.

"It's weird that you guys don't eat, but are still really good cooks," Seth said as he walked towards the kitchen.

"We're hanging out with people who are supposed to be our natural enemies; we change into giant wolves and that's the weirdest thing you can think of," Jake said.

Seth simply shrugged his shoulders and continued his walk towards the kitchen. We laughed as Jake shook his head and followed after Seth.

 **BPOV**

It had been 3 days of relaxation I didn't realize I needed so bad. My mom had taken Jess and I to a spa for a girls' day as a present from Phil's mom; she showed us some of the tourist traps as well as some cool local places that she got to discover for herself. My mom and Phil had built up a comfortable life for themselves here and for that I was grateful.

Jessica joked if I wasn't careful Edward may not recognize me because I looked like I was actually getting some color from being in the Florida sun. I had to laugh, especially since he sent me texts everyday about how gloomy it was in Forks and how he wished he could walk in the sun with me. I missed him terribly, but thankfully I didn't have an aching gape in my chest like when he left me; I could still feel the pull whenever we were apart, but it wasn't a pain that I couldn't handle.

At one point, my mom sat me down while Jess was on the phone with her parents to talk about my school plans.

" _So, have you gotten any of your acceptance letters from anywhere yet?" Renee asked._

" _Yeah, I have," I told her. "Sorry mom, things have been kind of crazy lately and I've forgotten to call."_

" _Oh, Bella you don't have to apologize," Renee said patting my hand. "I was hoping just a touch of my personality was in there after all."_

 _We both had to laugh at that, because where Charlie always said in looks, I reminded him of mom-my personality was a bit more his speed._

" _Well, where did you hear back from?" Renee asked excitedly._

" _So, I got in the University of Washington, Dartmouth has me on their waitlist and the University of New Hampshire accepted me on a Presidential Scholarship," I told her._

" _Bella, that's amazing!" Renee said giving me a tight hug. "But I didn't hear any Florida schools on that list…"_

 _Alice warned me my mother may want me to go to school down near her; luckily I would be able to convince her otherwise._

" _I think I've gotten used to cooler temperatures now," I joked lightly._

" _It would seem so," Renee joked back. "Did Edward convince you of the other two?"_

" _He did suggest Dartmouth," I admitted. "UNH was my choice though, just in case I didn't get in."_

" _I just have one question, sweetheart," Renee said. "Are you going to New Hampshire because Edward wants you to or because_ you _want to?"_

" _Honestly, at first it started out for him," I confessed to my mother. "Now, I want to go for me. Jess and Angela will be a few hours away in New York and while the Cullens will be in New Hampshire too, I'm still doing my own thing…and I'm excited about that."_

" _Okay," Renee said with a gentle smile. "Now that I know that, I can let you go with my blessing."_

Right now, Jess, Renee and I were lounging in the front yard of her house. It was a sweet little place a couple minutes away from the ocean. It was just a bit cooler than most of the city and if you closed your eyes and focused, you could hear the waves lap along the beach and smell the salt from the water.

"To think you could have done this on your weekends and all your breaks," Renee said.

"Mom, we talked about this," I said in a playfully warning tone.

"I know, I know," Renee said. "But at least I know you'll come visit. And Jessica, you're welcome to come too."

"Thanks, Renee," Jess said as she picked up her phone after an alert went off. "Ooh, NYU is doing a tour this Friday…Is there any way we can exchange our tickets?"

"I don't know," I said. "It does sound like fun though."

"Oh! I think Phil may have some miles from visiting his folks and from game travel," Renee said. "Let me ask him."

Renee ran towards the house to call Phil.

"Hey, I know you wouldn't want to leave here so soon, but maybe your mom can come with us and we can take a train to New Hampshire the day before and check out UNH," Jess suggested.

"That could work," I said. "And then my mom may not be as bored while Phil's doing spring training."

"All right, I just got off the phone with Phil," Renee said with a smile. "Would you girls mind if an old woman tagged along so she can see the school her daughter may be heading to?"

"I mean, she could, but what are you going to do, Renee?" Jess said with a wink.

"I like her," Renee said.

"Of course you can come with us mom," I said.

"Glad you said that, because I already booked tickets for the three of us," Renee said with a smile. "New York, here we come!"

A day later, we found ourselves in the MHT Airport at the car rental section. While Renee stood in the line, Jess and I called the surrounding area near UNH for available hotel rooms. It took us about three times each before I finally got one that was available for the night.

"Uh-huh," I said as the concierge gave me the details. "Yes, we can be there in the next hour…thank you. We'll be there soon. Bye."

"Any luck?" Renee asked as she held up the keys.

"Yeah, I got us a room at the Hilton about 10 miles away from the campus," I said.

"Basically anything closer was already booked up," Jess said. "I'm almost afraid to try and find anything here in the city."

"Well, we can give it the old college try when we get to New Hampshire," Renee joked. "Are you girls ready?"

We nodded and followed Renee to the little blue Corolla that reminded me of my little blue Camry back home in Forks. I almost forgot that Renee drove like a member of the Cullen family with her need for speed. Instead of the drive taking the full hour, it took about 35 minutes to get there.

We checked into the hotel, each taking a turn to freshen up a bit once we reached our room, and then began the short drive to campus. We pulled into the parking lot just as it looked like the tour group was forming.

"Alright, we may have a few more stragglers, so we'll give two more minutes until we start with the tour," the tour guide announced. Once we were in place, as well as a few other families who were running late, the tour guide began.

"Nice to see everyone today," she said with a smile. "My name is Annalise and welcome to today's prospective student tour of UNH! We're glad that you have chosen us to be your educational hub for the next four years of your lives."

"Is everyone ready to get started?" Annalise asked. After a chorus of "yeses" and some head nods, we began our tour. Annalise was sure to highlight the parent-friendly portion of the tour: the history of the campus, the strong academic curriculum, and the great student organizations we could join. The campus itself was beautiful and I fell in love with the library automatically, much to my mom and Jess's amusement as they literally had to pull me away.

"So if no one else has any other questions, I'll let you all break to our dining hall for refreshments or you can visit our campus store to get a jump on stocking up UNH gear," Annalise with a smile. "I hope you enjoyed your tour and we can't wait for you to join us in the fall!"

The group applauded and some followed Annalise to the dining hall while she pointed out the campus store to some of the other families.

"So do you girls want to grab something to eat first or just head back to the hotel?" Renee asked.

"I'm okay with waiting…" Jess said but trailed off when something caught her eye. "Oh my God!"

"What is it?" I asked looking in the same direction, but I gasped at what I saw too.

Right at the edge of campus, there was a silver Volvo parked near the quad with two familiar figures standing right near it.

"Girls, everything okay?" Renee asked when we didn't answer. I don't think we paid attention as we walked towards them and eventually broke out in a run to get to them.

An almost perfect vacation was finally complete, now that the two missing piece known as Edward Cullen and Jacob Black were there.

 **I'll be working on part two to the reunion soon! Again, thank you guys for bearing with me; you're too awesome for words! Thank you to the new followers: Betty1968, Twi-madkat18, VoidScorpionn, and Roza Dragomir Belikova; thanks to the new favoriters: LOVESROOKIEBLUE-ANDYANDSAM, KieranSiobhan, Gordies24, Immortal Loves1, and flake13; thank you to my new favoriting follower, jorg0382; thank you to the new author followers: and AHealingRenaissance; thank you to a day one reader, traceybuie, for favoriting and following my author page; finally, thank you to pat1968 for doing all of the above!**

 **Until next time,**

 **xoxo**


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